Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (25-9)
Bad Guys: Montana State Bobcats (27-7)
When to Watch: Friday, March 18th @ 12:45 pm
Where to Watch: Viejas Arena | San Diego, California
How to Watch: TNT | NCAA.com
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Texas Tech -15
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | MONTANA STATE |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Kevin McCullar (6-6/210) | 10.0 / 3.1* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Davion Warren (6-6/215) | 10.1 / 3.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Terrence Shannon, Jr. (6-6/215) | 10.6 / 2.9 |
| POWER FORWARD | Kevin Obanor (6-8/235) | 9.8 / 5.0 |
| CENTER | Bryson Williams (6-8/240) | 13.8 / 4.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Marcus Santos-Silva (6-7/250) | 4.7 / 4.2 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Adonis Arms (6-5/200) | 8.5 / 4.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Mylik Wilson (6-3/175) | 2.9 / 1.8* |
| NINTH MAN | Daniel Batcho (6-11/235) | 2.5 / 2.9 |
| TENTH MAN | Clarence Nadolny (6-3/200) | 3.9 / 1.4 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Chibuzo Agbo (6-7/220) | 1.3 / 1.1 |
| TWELFTH MAN | KJ Allen (6-6/255) | 2.1 / 1.9 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Austin Timperman (6-9/190) | 0.0 / 0.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Xavier Bishop (5-8/165) | 13.9 / 4.3* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Amin Adamu (6-5/190) | 11.6 / 4.8 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Tyler Patterson (6-9/190) | 7.2 / 1.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Abdul Mohamed (6-7/205) | 7.8 / 6.6 |
| CENTER | Jubrile Belo (6-9/240) | 13.0 / 6.8 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Nick Gazelas (6-4/180) | 5.2 / 0.5 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Great Osobor (6-8/245) | 6.0 / 4.2 |
| EIGHTH MAN | RaeQuan Battle (6-5/190) | 8.5 / 2.4 |
| NINTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Statistically, Montana State is a perfectly even team. they are 150th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and 149th on the defensive side of the ball. Lots of times when a team is middle of the road, they do things good and they also do things not so good. Offensively, the Bobcats are a terrific shooting team, 28th in the nation in eFG%, 26th from three and 53rd inside the arc. They are also a good free throw shooting team, 71st in the nation in free throw percentage and they are 4th in the nation in free throw rate. What they do not do well is they turn the ball over at a pretty high rate, 185th in the nation and they are not a good offensive rebounding team. Defensively, Montana State is a good team at keeping opponents off of the offensive glass, 24th in the nation, but they are 306th in defensive free throw rate and teams make nearly 76% of free throws against them. They are okay at defending the three-point line, 127th and 118th for anything inside the arc.
2. Scouting. Bishop is the Bobcat’s most important player as he plays 85% of the available minutes. He’s a terrific passer with a high assist rate and he’s not turnover prone, but he can be careless (17.5% turnover rate). Bishop is a good shooter, 47% from inside the arc and 35% from outside. Belo, Mohamed, and Adamu all play about 65% of the available minutes, Belo shoots exclusively from inside and mainly from around the basket, but makes 59% of his shots. He a great rebounder, shot-blocker and gets to the free throw line a ton. Adamu is really solid but not spectacular. He’s an excellent shooter, probably the best on the team and he’ll grab some boards as well. Mohamed’s biggest attribute is that he’s a great rebounder, the best on the team statistically and is a good shooter, making 42% of his 3-point shots. Patterson and Gazelas are both good shooters and that’s their best attribute I think, they are there to score.
3. How They Match Up. This seems like a pretty simplistic game plan for Texas Tech. Texas Tech’s biggest issue has been on offense, particularly creating their own shots. Luckily, Montana State has some issues defensively and they aren’t great at stopping teams at turning the ball over or forcing bad shots. Texas Tech should be good offensively if they can keep the turnovers to a minimum, which Montana State doesn’t really force. It is the offensive side of the ball that the Bobcats excel at, and they have a handful of good options. I’ll be interested to see how Montana State handles Texas Tech’s meat-grinder, the never-ending bodies that opposing coaches always discuss when playing Texas Tech. The defense is something that teams just can’t prepare for and for Texas Tech, is there something that Montana State does that will put Texas Tech in a particular bind and I don’t know what that is.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
AP’s Bernie Wilson | West Region: Tough schedule preps ’Bama for NCAA Tournament
Dallas Morning News’ Ryan Mainville | Mark Madness: After a year of change for Texas Tech basketball, high expectations remain in March
Dallas Morning News’ Joseph Hoyt | How Texas Tech is using Kevin Obanor’s unique experience to prepare for Montana State
Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s Parker Cotton | Montana State men bringing bevy of outside shooters into NCAA Tournament
Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s Parker Cotton | Montana State men will look to crack Texas Tech’s defense in NCAA Tournament
Montana Sports’ Ashley Washburn | Montana State ready to ‘take the next step’ at March Madness
Head behind the scenes with @TexasTechMBB as they head to San Diego ✈️
The Red Raiders face Montana State tomorrow on TNT. pic.twitter.com/PiTRGJxkpn
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 18, 2022
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Texas Tech is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA West Region and is set for the program’s fourth straight and 19th overall NCAA Tournament appearance where it will open against No. 14 seeded Montana State at 12:45 p.m. (CST) on Friday at the Viejas Arena in San Diego, California. On the other side of the West Region bracket in San Diego, Alabama will play either Rutgers or Notre Dame on Friday.
The Red Raiders (25-9, 12-6 Big 12) have matched the program record for their highest seeding and will look to continue program success in the tournament that had them reach the 2018 Elite 8 and the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final. Tech is currently at No. 12 in the national rankings after a season where it finished third overall in the Big 12 regular-season standings and then reached the Big 12 Championship Final for the second time in program history. Tech is coming off a 74-65 loss to No. 6 Kansas in the Big 12 Championship game last Saturday in Kansas City. The team has not lost back-to-back games all season.