Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-2, 0-0)
Bad Guys: North Alabama Lions (6-7, 0-0)
When to Watch: Monday, January 1st @ 1:00 pm
Where to Watch: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN+
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -18
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | NORTH ALABAMA |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Joe Toussaint (6-0/195) | 14.8 / 4.1* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Pop Isaacs (6-2/180) | 15.4 / 3.6* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Kerwin Walton (6-5/210) | 7.3 / 1.7 |
| POWER FORWARD | Darrion Williams (6-8/225) | 9.8 / 7.3 |
| CENTER | Warren Washington (7-0/235) | 9.0 / 8.6 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chance McMillian (6-3/185) | 8.8 / 3.5 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Lamar Washington (6-4/200) | 3.6 / 2.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Robert Jennings (6-7/230) | 2.3 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | KyeRon Lindsay (6-8/215) | 1.0 / 0.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Eemeli Yalaho (6-8/240) | 0.3 / 0.3 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | D’Maurian Williams (6-3/195) | 0.7 / 0.7 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Drew Steffe (6-5/200) | – / – |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/185) | 1.0 / 0.0 |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | Devan Cambridge (6-6/210) | Out for Year |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Jacari Lane (6-0/182) | 13.3 / 4.4* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Detalian Brown (6-2/190) | 7.2 / 1.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Will Soucie (6-6/215) | 4.8 / 2.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Tim Smith, Jr. (6-7/230) | 9.8 / 5.7 |
| CENTER | Damian Forrest (6-9/245) | 9.3 / 8.6 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Dallas Howell (6-7/205) | 7.3 / 4.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | KJ Johnson (6-3/183) | 13.6 / 2.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Josiah Fulcher (6-4/195) | 6.0 / 3.6 |
| NINTH MAN | Marco Foster (6-2/180) | 5.5 / 1.2 |
| TENTH MAN | Eoin Nelson (6-11/250) | 2.5 / 2.5 |
* Assists.
Before we start . . . Happy New Year! I hope you all are well after celebrating and ringing in the new year last night! I also wanted to note that I didn’t even mention in the post-game thoughts that Drew Steffe is currently not with the program for family reasons. I don’t speculate when it comes to these sorts of things, but think a good thought for Drew and his family and hope that his family is well.
Also, I am posting a College Football Open Thread prior to this post for today’s bowl games.
Starting 5
1. Stats. The last warm-up before conference play. North Alabama isn’t necessarily terrible at any one thing other than offensive rebounding, 275th in the nation. They are good shooters from deep, 33% or 173rd in the nation, and they also make a ton of free throws, 76%, good for 44th in the nation. The Lions aren’t a high turnover team, 146th in the nation, and get to the line a decent amount, 201st. Defensively, just a few things stand out, 310th in allowing opponents to get to the line and North Alabama allows opponents to shoot 35% from deep, good for 280th in the nation.
2. Scouting. Lane is the best player, but not a great shooter, only 32% from deep, but does have a high usage rate and high assist rate. Smith shoots incredibly well, 43% from outside, 56% inside the arc, and has a low turnover rate and high block rate. Keep an eye on him. Forrest and Howell are the team’s best rebounders and Forrest only shoots inside, 54%, while Howell shoots way too much from outside as he’s only making 28% of his 3-point shots.
3. How They Match Up. T-Rank thinks Texas Tech wins by 17+, that’s a wide margin, but Texas Tech should be able to get to the line quite a bit and should be able to keep the Lions off the line, which making those free throws is one of their advantages. Texas Tech has been terrible in 3-point shooting rate, 297th overall, maybe that’s a product of the not-so-great teams trying to shoot themselves into games.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
The Red Raiders (10-2) are currently 7-0 at home this season and on a 29-game non-conference home winning streak after their 96-60 win over Sam Houston on Thursday. The 96 points, 36-point margin of victory, and 15 3-pointers they knocked down were all season-highs for the team that went unbeaten throughout the month of December. Tech is now focused on the 13th game of the season, first of 2024, and final non-conference game with the matchup against the Lions (6-7).
“It’s a great opportunity before Big 12 play,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “North Alabama is a tough team and that’s what we’ve wanted in this non-conference schedule to face tough teams. They play the game in a physical way and can score. They took K-State into overtime and have played a tough road schedule. I have a lot of respect for a team that goes on the road and competes and find a way to be in every game they’ve played.”