Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-4, 1-1)
Bad Guys: Colorado Buffaloes (12-3, 2-0)
When to Watch: Saturday, January 10th @ 6:00 pm
Where to Watch: CU Events Center | Boulder, Colorado
How to Watch: CBSSN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -5.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | COLORADO |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Christian Anderson (6-3/178) | 19.6 / 7.5* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Jaylen Petty (6-1/168) | 9.4 / 3.6 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Donovan Atwell (6-5/200) | 11.4 / 3.0 |
| POWER FORWARD | LeJuan Watts (6-6/225) | 13.4 / 5.9 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/230) | 20.9 / 10.9 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 3.6 / 2.9 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Tyree Bryan (6-5/215) | 5.1 / 3.3 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Nolan Groves (6-5/205) | 1.3 / 1.5 |
| NINTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/180) | 0.4 / 0.6 |
| TENTH MAN | Luke Bamgboye (6-11/220) | 5.6 / 3.4 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Josiah Moseley (6-8/225) | – / – |
| TWELFTH MAN | Marial Akuentok (6-11/240) | 2.3 / 3.0 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | LaTrell Hoover (7-0/230) | – / – |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/180) | 0.0 / 1.0 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Barrington Hargress (6-1/190) | 13.3 / 4.8* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Felix Kossaras (6-6/192) | 6.5 / 2.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Sebastian Rancik (6-11/220) | 13.9 / 5.5 |
| POWER FORWARD | Bangot Dak (7-0/203) | 11.8 / 7.4 |
| CENTER | Elijah Malone (6-10/270) | 6.5 / 4.1 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Isaiah Johnson (6-1/170) | 15.6 / 3.1 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Josiah Sanders (6-5/210) | 4.7 / 2.6 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Jalin Holland (6-5/200) | 3.9 / 2.1 |
| NINTH MAN | Alon Michaeli (6-9/229) | 10.0 / 4.8 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Colorado is pretty darned good offensive team, they are 42nd in 3-point shooting, 74th in 2-point shooting, and 24th in free throw percentage. Add in that they are a low turnover team, 38th in the nation, get a decent number of offensive boards, 85th in the nation, and get to the line plenty, 61st. That’s really good. The issues with Colorado are on defense, they do not force turnovers, 270th, and are terrible at guarding the 3-point line, 304th in the nation. They are decent at stopping opponents from rebounding on the offensive end, 7ith, but that’s really the only good mark.
2. Scouting. It’s pretty easy to score when you have 3 guys over 6’10” in your starting lineup. Johnson is a terrific freshman point guard, not necessarily a high assist guy, but he’s making 57% of his 2-point shots and 45% of his 3’s and he’s not a high usage player, really no one is for Colorado. Hargress isn’t bad either, making a whopping 58% of his 2-point shots and 56% of his 3’s, he’s even better than Johnson. Rancik, Dak and Michaeli are all decent rebounders and like the rest of the team, they don’t turn the ball over. Dak is a good shot-blocker.
3. How They Match Up. Texas Tech is a small team and Colorado is the opposite. You wonder who is going to blink first. CU did lose to Northern Colorado, that’s the same team that Texas Tech squeaked by at home, and it was the defense that failed the Buffs. The good news is that Marial Akuentok is back and is listed as probable on the availability report. I would guess that McCasland will stress the importance of playing fantastic defense on a team like Colorado, but being on-point offensive may be more important. Colorado typically has issues stopping teams from shooting well or are simply not turning teams over, giving opponents more opportunities to make buckets.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
The Denver Gazette’s Tyler King: Colorado native Jeff Linder thriving at No. 14 Texas Tech — with Final Four aspirations | College Basketball Insider
“He’s a Colorado guy, I’m a Colorado guy, so we’ve known each for a long time and he’s a hell of a coach and a good guy,” Boyle said. “He landed in a pretty good spot there at Texas Tech with Grant. They’ve got a good staff, they’ve got good players and they’re well-coached.”
After eight years as a head coach, Linder has had no regrets about taking an assistant job. He runs a Texas Tech offense that ranks in the top 15 nationally in terms of efficiency, per KenPom.com, and is a big part of a program all in on winning without the stresses that come with being the top guy in charge.
“I was just probably at a point where I was probably ready for a change,” Linder told The Denver Gazette. “I still had three years left on my contract in Wyoming, but for me to step back and to be an assistant, this was gonna be the only place that I would do it and doing it for Grant. That’s what made it, because I wouldn’t have done it for anybody else.”
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Where does Texas Tech basketball fit into Big 12 hierarchy this season?
But there are a few teams hovering around with better-than-anticipated records such as UCF (which earned a national ranking for beating Kansas), Oklahoma State (which Texas Tech throttled by 22 in the league opener) and the Red Raiders’ next opponent, Colorado.
“The league is significantly better,” Grant McCasland said of the Big 12. “You can look at the very top and know that we probably have three or four of the best teams in the country. I think our league is as deep as it’s ever been and Colorado’s a great example.”
Lady Raider Basketball: Cincinnati up next for No. 17 Tech
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
No. 14 Texas Tech is set to play at Colorado for the first time since 2010 when it takes on the Buffaloes at 6 p.m. (CST) on Saturday at the CU Events Center. The Red Raiders (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) had a four-game winning streak snapped with a 69-65 road loss at No. 7 Houston on Tuesday while the Buffaloes (12-3, 2-0 Big 12) remained unbeaten in conference play and moved to 9-1 at home with an 85-73 win over Utah on Wednesday night.
Tech, which leads the Big 12 by making 10.9 3-pointers per game and is second by shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc, is currently 0-2 in true road games this season going into the matchup. The Red Raiders scored a season-high 102 points in their conference-opening win over Oklahoma State but were held to their second fewest with 65 points against the Cougars. Tech is currently scoring 83.7 points per game and has limited opponents to 73.3. The Red Raiders are ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 to extend a program record to 18 straight appearances in the poll and are also at No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and at No. 20 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom ratings.