Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-10)
Bad Guys: Akron Zips (29-5)
When to Watch: Friday, March 20th @ 11:40 am
Where to Watch: Benchmark International Arena | Tampa, Florida
How to Watch: truTV
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -7.5
Advanced Stats
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Christian Anderson (6-3/178) | 18.9 / 7.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Jaylen Petty (6-1/168) | 9.5 / 3.9 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Donovan Atwell (6-5/200) | 13.5 / 3.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | LeJuan Watts (6-6/225) | 11.5 / 6.0 |
| CENTER | Luke Bamgboye (6-11/220) | 4.7 / 3.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Tyeree Bryan (6-5/215) | 3.7 / 2.6 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Josiah Moseley (6-8/225) | 4.6 / 3.7 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Marial Akuentok (6-11/240) | 1.3 / 1.8 |
| NINTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 2.4 / 1.9 |
| TENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/180) | 0.8 / 0.5 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Nolan Groves (6-5/205) | 1.0 / 1.3 |
| TWELFTH MAN | Jack Francis (6-3/180) | 0.0 / 0.3 |
| THIRTEENTH MAN | LaTrell Hoover (7-0/230) | – / – |
| FOURTEENTH MAN | JT Toppin (6-9/230) | Out For Year |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Tavari Johnson (6-0/170) | 20.1 / 5.0* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Bowen Hardman (6-3/190) | 7.9 / 1.6 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Zach Halligan (6-5/210) | 2.7 / 2.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Evan Mahaffey (6-6/215) | 10.2 / 5.6 |
| CENTER | Amani Lyles (6-9/240) | 14.6 / 8.0 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Shammah Scott (6-2/200) | 12.7 / 2.6 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Eric Mahaffey (6-6/200) | 7.8 / 5.7 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Sharron Young (6-0/160) | 7.3 / 2.7 |
| NINTH MAN | Marvin Musiime-Kamali (6-6/195) | 2.1 / 2.0 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Let’s talk about Akron. The Zips are a terrific offensive team, particularly shooting the ball, 14th in the nation in shooting 3’s and 12th in 2-point shots. They make 75% of their free throws, good for 68th in the nation, and they rarely get their shot blocked, just 83rd in block percentage. They are a good offensive rebounding team, 79th in the nation and they are top 3rd in turning it over, 103rd overall. The biggest weakness is that they are 330th in free throw rate, which maybe plays into Texas Tech’s hands as they probably not a team that’s pounding the rock. Defensively, there’s some good with some mid mixed in. They are 78th in turning teams over, 63rd in opponent free throw rate, and 64th in opponent 2-point shooting. The things that aren’t so great are 251st in guarding the 3-point line and 236th in blocking opposing team shots. They will allow some offensive boards, 152nd.
2. Scouting. Akron won their last 10 and 19 of their last 20 games, their only loss was an away game to Troy. Other than that, they’ve absolutely ruled. Common opponent to Texas Tech, they only lost to Purdue 97-79. Akron has a couple of offensive standouts, Johnson is a terrific shooter and high assist guy for Akron, but isn’t involved at all at rebounding. Lyles and Eric Mahaffey are the big rebounders for the team, so maybe a bit undersized. Lyles is actually a decent shooter from deep 38%, but he’s also making 65% of his 2’s. They both shoot the ball really well (everyone on Akron’s team does). Evan Mahaffey sort of does it all for Akron, not a great passer, but good and a decent rebounder as well. He makes 62% of his shots. Scott is a volume sharpshooter, making 42%of his 3’s and has 180 attempts on the season.
3. How They Match Up. There are opportunities for Texas Tech! I think it depends if it is the team that showed up in Ames and dominated Iowa State or the one that was dominated by the Cyclones last week. I know this isn’t the team that all of us thought would be here in March, but this is what they got and they are still good enough to beat Akron and Arkansas. I think with Texas Tech is is on the boards and it is mindset and the rest will sort of
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Lady Raider Basketball: No. 7 Lady Raiders primed for NCAA Tournament
Good Gals: No. 7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (25-7)
Bad Gals: No. 10 Villanova Wildcats (25-7)
When to Watch: Friday, March 20th @ 7:30 p.m. CST
Where to Watch: ESPNU
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Texas Tech will be without its best player, JT Toppin (torn ACL), but that shouldn’t slow the Red Raiders down here against the Akron. The Zips’ numbers are a bit of a farce, as they’ve played the same poor competition that the Miami (OH) Redhawks played. Whenever Akron played anyone in the nonconference in the top 125 in adjusted efficiency margin, they lost. So, facing a Texas Tech team that’s 20th in that category suggests they will be overmatched, particularly on the perimeter. The Red Raiders are an elite 3-point shooting team, making better than 39% of them this season. They should feast on a Zips defense that is 253rd in 3-point shooting defense. Akron has been an underdog only once this season, to the Purdue Boilermakers in a game it lost by 18. This isn’t the 12/5 upset spot people think it is. Lay the points with Tech.
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Team Atwell, as they call themselves, even developed an acronym to summarize their son: S.L.O.D.A, or The Secret Life of Donovan Atwell. After being born, raised, and spending the bulk of his college career in the state of North Carolina, Tim and Allison weren’t the least bit concerned about Atwell shipping off to Texas for his final go-around.
“It’s been, I would say, rewarding in the way that Donovan has been able to connect from a basketball perspective,” Tim said, “but also from a people perspective because I think it’s the perfect place for his character and his heart to be seen.”
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Upset chance: 18%
12:40 p.m. ET on Friday
Tech’s national championship hopes took a big hit when All-American JT Toppin suffered a season-ending ACL injury a month ago. The Red Raiders enter with three straight losses, but they are still as dangerous as any team from beyond the arc and are led by the dynamic Christian Anderson (18.9 PPG, 7.6 APG). Texas Tech relies heavily on the 3-ball (43% of its points come from deep) and so does Akron (39% from 3), which has won 10 in a row and 19 of 20 entering the tourney. The Zips are the shortest team in this year’s field, so it will be important for them to be efficient offensively and guard the line at the other end, which has been an issue for them this season.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
NCAA Tournament and Tampa bound, No. 5 Texas Tech will play No. 12 Akron at 12:40 p.m. (ET) on Friday in a Midwest Region First Round game at Benchmark International Arena in Florida. The Tech-Akron winner advances to the Second Round to play either No. 4 Alabama or No. 13 Hofstra on Sunday before one team proceeds to Chicago for the Midwest Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds at the United Center.
“It’s an expectation here that we are playing in the NCAA Tournament,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Not only to play in it, but to win and make a run. These 5-12 games are always dangerous, any way you look at it. I think Akron is a really strong team. We can’t worry about anything besides getting better over these next few days as a group. That’s been my challenge for us all season. You have to keep getting better to give yourself the best chance to win. This NCAA Tournament is always great and the moment you think you understand the path is the moment you do this the wrong way. We’re all in on preparing for Akron and figuring out a way to win that first one.”