Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-3, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Northern Colorado Bears (9-1, 0-0)
When to Watch: Tuesday, December 16th @ 7:00 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 -23.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | NORTHERN COLORADO |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Christian Anderson (6-3/178) | 18.1 / 6.9* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Donovan Atwell (6-5/200) | 12.4 / 3.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Tyree Bryan (6-5/215) | 6.4 / 4.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | JT Toppin (6-9/230) | 22.1 / 11.0 |
| CENTER | Luke Bamgboye (6-11/220) | 5.0 / 3.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | LeJuan Watts (6-6/225) | 11.6 / 5.6 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Jaylen Petty (6-1/168) | 5.9 / 3.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 4.2 / 2.8 |
| NINTH MAN | Nolan Groves (6-5/205) | 2.3 / 2.0 |
| TENTH MAN | Marial Akuentok (6-11/240) | 2.3 / 3.0 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Josiah Moseley (6-8/225) | – / – |
| TWELFTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/180) | 1.0 / 1.5 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | LaTrell Hoover (7-0/230) | – / – |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/180) | 0.0 / 1.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Zach Bloch (6-2/185) | 13.9 / 2.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Quinn Denker (6-3/190) | 17.3 / 6.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Ring Nyeri (6-8/165) | 5.8 / 5.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Ibu Yamazaki (6-7/215) | 9.7 / 3.6 |
| CENTER | Brock Wisne (6-9/245) | 14.3 / 6.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Egan Shields (6-10/250) | 8.1 / 6.2 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Vincent Delano (6-2/175) | 6.1 / 2.1 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Ariik Mawien (6-4/175) | 5.4 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | Tanner Braketa (6-1/-) | 4.0 / 0.8 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Northern Colorado is a team that shoots really well inside the arc, 23rd in the nation and they are also a terrific free throw shooting team, 34th in the nation, and they almost never get their shot blocked, 34th in the nation in that. That propelled them to the 43rd best eFG% team in the nation. The things they don’t do well, they don’t rebound the ball on the offensive end of things, 344th in the nation, they also are a bit turnover prone, 165th overall, and they aren’t a great shooting team, top half in the nation, 153rd in 3-point shooting. Defensively, they are 1st in the nation in guarding the 3-point line, so that will be interesting to see how Texas Tech operates and 32nd in limiting opponents’ offensive rebounding. They are not a team that blocks shots, 326th in the nation, and they are not a team that will turn opponents over, 344th overall.
2. Scouting. Decker is a terrific player, but just as an FYI, he only played 5 minutes in the last game. If he does play, he’s the player with the highest usage rate, a terrific shooter inside the arc, 63%, gets to the line and makes 80% of his free throws, has a high assist rate and low turnover percentage. Bloch is a terrific shooter, making 49% of his 3-point shots and shoots a majority of them from there. Shields is the 6th man, but he’s the best rebounder on the team by a decent amount. Also watch Yamazaki, he’ll shoot it from deep, 34% and Delano will as well, but he’s only making 24%.
3. How They Match Up. Something a bit different to start. As of right now, T-Rank predicts that Texas Tech will finish 9-9 in the Big 12, which seems about right. I think that this team will struggle against the best teams, such as Arizona, Houston, Iowa State and BYU (apologies if I am forgetting someone, you could maybe include Kansas as well). I think that at this point, any more than 9 wins would be quite impressive considering everything.
As far as Northern Colorado, it will be interesting how they defend the 3-point shot. Texas Tech shoots a good share of their buckets from deep and they’ve defended it really well thus far. Texas Tech would also be wise to pound the offensive boards, they are 32nd in the nation in limiting and that would be a decent test to do something you already decent at.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
Only three non-conference games remain for No. 16 Texas Tech with two coming this week – first against Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena and then a marquee matchup against No. 3 Duke on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“They’ve won road games and have played great offensively,” Tech coach Grant McCasland said of playing Northern Colorado. “They have a great plan defensively and are one of the more experienced teams returning in the country. We have a lot of respect for the way they compete, offensively and defensively. We’re going to have to play great basketball and will need everybody here in order to win this one.”