Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-4, 6-1)
Bad Guys: UCF Knights (16-4, 5-3)
When to Watch: Saturday, January 31st @ 11:00 am
Where to Watch: Addition Financial Arena | Orlando, Florida
How to Watch: ESPN2
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -5.5
Advanced Stats
| TEXAS TECH | STAT | UCF |
|---|---|---|
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Christian Anderson (6-3/178) | 19.8 / 7.5* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Jaylen Petty (6-1/168) | 9.4 / 4.0 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Donovan Atwell (6-5/200) | 12.2 / 3.1 |
| POWER FORWARD | LeJuan Watts (6-6/225) | 12.8 / 6.4 |
| CENTER | JT Toppin (6-9/230) | 22.1 / 10.9 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Tyeree Bryan (6-5/215) | 4.6 / 3.1 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Josiah Moseley (6-8/225) | 6.0 / 6.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 2.7 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | Luke Bamgboye (6-11/220) | 5.6 / 3.4 |
| TENTH MAN | Marial Akuentok (6-11/240) | 1.4 / 2.0 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Nolan Groves (6-5/205) | 1.2 / 1.3 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/180) | 0.4 / 0.6 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | LaTrell Hoover (7-0/230) | – / – |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/180) | 0.0 / 0.3 |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Themus Fulks (6-2/185) | 13.9 / 7.2* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Riley Kugel (6-5/210) | 15.1 / 3.6 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jordan Burks (6-9/205) | 12.5 / 4.4 |
| POWER FORWARD | Jamichael Stillwell (6-8/225) | 12.5 / 7.9 |
| CENTER | John Bol (7-2/210) | 5.2 / 5.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Chris Johnson (6-5/196) | 5.9 / 1.3 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Carmelo Pacheco (6-5/190) | 5.4 / 1.4 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Devan Cambridge (6-6/210) | 6.2 / 4.1 |
| NINTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. UCF is massively improved and don’t forget that UCF arrived in Lubbock last year and had a surprising win that probably motivated Texas Tech the rest of the year. I’m good without needing that motivation this year, but the point stands that UCF is greatly improved and Texas Tech should not forget about that loss last year. UCF is a good offensive team, particularly from deep where they are 22nd in the nation overall. They are also 26th in offensive rebounding with the only detriment offensively being they are 296th in free throw rate. However, when you are that good shooting the ball, you may not be pounding the ball down low. Defensively, they really limit opposing teams from reboudning offensive boards, 28th in the nation, but are middling to meh everywhere else, 206th in opponent 2-point shooting, 167th in opponent 3-point shooting, 201st in opponent free throw rate adn 214th in turnover rate.
2. Scouting. Fulks and Kugel are really good shooters, Fulks makes 47%, but only has 30 attempts, while Kugel makes 41% and already has 101 atttempts. Burks is decent, 38%, but he’s good inside the arc, making 56% of his 2-point shots. Fulks is a terrific floor general and he and Kugel are the really only 2 high usage playaers. Stillwell and and old friend, Devan Cambridge, are good rebounders, along with Bol. Not a surprise, but Bol and Cambridge are good shot-blockers.
3. How They Match Up. Texas Tech and UCF should have a good battle as Texas Tech attempts to continue their offensive rebounding prowess, although for the year, Texas Tech is 61st in the nation in offensive rebounding. Like UCF, Texas Tech doesn’t really get to the line and doesn’t really force opponent turnovers. Texas Tech likes to shoot from deep, 41st in the nation in 3-point shooting rate while UCF, despite having good shooters, is 252nd in 3-point shooting rate. The availability report is the cleanest it’s ever been. Bamgboye and Moseley are healthy and Texas Tech officially has a bench.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech basketball hopes week of rest benefits in road tilt at UCF
“It’s been a good ramp-up for the guys that haven’t played much,” McCasland said, “because we’ve been able to put them in a pretty consistent amount of practice that will replicate what we’ll see in games to see how they respond. Although there wasn’t a game to play this week, I do think that the guys haven’t played much made a big jump, just because we got to really focus our attention on their ability to improve.”
Despite the big win over the Cougars, McCasland said the game was not Texas Tech’s best product on the court, especially on the defensive end. Texas Tech has used this week to refocus the team for the stretch run of the regular season, which begins Saturday at UCF.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
On a season-best five-game winning streak after earning its second top 10 win of the year, No. 11 Texas Tech returns to action this weekend with a road game against UCF at 11 a.m. (CST) on Saturday at Addition Financial Arena.
The Red Raiders (16-4, 6-1 Big 12) are coming off a week where they earned a 90-86 win over then-No. 6 Houston last Saturday after a 92-73 road win at Baylor on Tuesday night – matching a program record by making 17 3-pointers. For the week, Tech shot 29-for-56 (51.8%) on 3-pointers in the wins over Houston and Baylor – led by Donovan Atwell making 12-for-18 (66.7%) and Christian Anderson knocking down 9-of-17 (52.9%). Tech is currently second in the Big 12 standings behind No. 1 Arizona (21-0) which improved to 8-0 in conference play with a win over BYU on Monday night. The Knights (16-4, 5-3 Big 12), who trailed by as many as 12 points, improved to 11-2 at home with a 79-76 win over Arizona State on Tuesday night after earning a 95-86 win at Colorado last Saturday.
“They may be as good of a team in the country at home,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “They’ve been playing with a lot of confidence and have won a few games in a row. They’re playing great, especially offensively. They have elite scoring talent on their team. Guys who have been great scorers all their lives. They are physical. That jumps out to me. They’re the No. 1 defensive rebounding team in our league. We were until playing Houston. I just think they are physical and can score with a lot of guys who can put you on your heels. Our defense and rebounding is going to have to be great.”