Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-10)
Bad Guys: Alabama Crimson Tide (24-9)
When to Watch: Sunday, March 22nd @ 8:45 pm
Where to Watch: Benchmark International Arena | Tampa, Florida
How to Watch: TBS
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -0.5
Advanced Stats
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Christian Anderson (6-3/178) | 19.1 / 7.7* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Jaylen Petty (6-1/168) | 9.0 / 3.6 |
| SMALL FORWARD | Donovan Atwell (6-5/200) | 13.0 / 3.3 |
| POWER FORWARD | LeJuan Watts (6-6/225) | 12.2 / 6.1 |
| CENTER | Luke Bamgboye (6-11/220) | 4.5 / 3.4 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Tyeree Bryan (6-5/215) | 3.9 / 2.7 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Josiah Moseley (6-8/225) | 2.9 / 2.7 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Marial Akuentok (6-11/240) | 1.5 / 2.3 |
| NINTH MAN | Leon Horner (6-4/215) | 2.7 / 2.2 |
| TENTH MAN | Jazz Henderson (5-11/180) | 0.7 / 0.3 |
| 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 | Labaron Philon Jr. (6-4/185) | 21.7 / 4.7* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Latrell Wrightsell (6-3/195) | 12.8 / 3.1 |
| SMALL FORWARD | London Jemison (6-8/205) | 6.2 / 3.4 |
| POWER FORWARD | Amari Allen (6-8/205) | 11.7 / 7.1 |
| CENTER | Aiden Sherrell (6-10/255) | 11.1 / 6.1 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Taylor Bol Bowen (6-10/202) | 6.2 / 4.3 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Houston Mallette (6-5/202) | 6.6 / 4.5 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Jahil Bethea (6-5/290) | 4.4 / 1.7 |
| NINTH MAN | Noah Williamson (7-0/255) | 1.1 / 1.5 |
| TENTH MAN | – (-/-) | – / – |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Alabama is a force offensively. They are 78th in 3-point shooting, 25th in 2-point shooting, 42nd in free throw percentage, and 10th in turnover rate. They aren’t a great offensive rebounding team, 117th, which is still good for top third, and same thing for free throw rate, 131st. Defensively, there are some issues, they don’t turn teams over, 358th in the nation, and allow a ton of offensive boards, 289th. Those are two pretty big metrics to perform poorly, but other than that, they do really well. The Crimson Tide are 46th in opponent 2-point shooting and 71st in block rate. They are slightly worse than middle of the road in 3-point defense, 174th.
2. Scouting. As we all know, Aden Holloway is not playing because of an arrest and he was easily the 2nd best player. The hands-down best player is Philon, a terrific shooter, making 58% of his 2-point shots and 40% of his 3’s and a high assist guy with a high usage rate. The ball is always in his hands. Allen is a nice piece, a good rebounder, making 56% of his 2’s and 36% of his 3’s. Not bad for a freshman. Sherrell is a force on the glass and he’s a shot-blocker to boot.
3. How They Match Up. The match-up to watch will be Anderson vs. Philon. They are both lead guards with Philon maybe being a more highly sought after pro prospect. Maybe the biggest thing is that Alabama has only had to play their 1st round opponent, Hofstra, without Holloway, maybe that’s not a big adjustment, but as Texas Tech fans know, it can be an adjustment to play without a huge cog in the machine. I loved the distribution between Anderson, Petty, Atwell, Moseley, and Watts, they all pulled a share of the cart up the hill on Friday, the tough part is replicating that against a much tougher opponent.
4. lagniappe | something given as a bonus or extra gift.
Lady Raider Basketball: No. 7 Lady Raiders face No. 2 LSU on Sunday
Good Gals: No. 7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders (26-7)
Bad Gals: No. 2 LSU Tigers (28-5)
When to Watch: Sunday, March 22nd @ 2:00 p.m. CST
Where to Watch: ABC
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Stephen Garcia: Bailey Maupin quells Texas Tech women’s basketball fourth-quarter woes
“I wouldn’t say that it’s a feeling that I feel like I have to do that by myself,” Maupin said. “I feel like we’re all put in positions where we need to execute, where we need to get to the basket, or where we need to get open shots. I’m super grateful that everyone on this team knows that if it’s their time, it’s their time to get to the basket. It just happened to be me tonight.”
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Stephen Garcia: LSU’s Kim Mulkey has utmost respect for Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech women’s basketball
“She, before we played them one year at Baylor, came to my office and sat down, and I’ll never forget,” Mulkey said. “I said, Coach, I don’t know if this coaching is for me. I said, this losing eats at me. I said, I’m a point guard that’s used to having that ball in my hands and (to) go win a ballgame. As a coach, you’re really helpless somewhat.
“And I’ll never forget what she said to me. She said, Kim, as you age in this profession, you will learn to compartmentalize. And while the losing will still eat at you, you will be able to handle it as you age. I won’t ever forget her doing that.”
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech basketball vs Alabama prediction, pick for 2026 NCAA Tournament second round
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Time to let JT Toppin-less Texas Tech write its own March Madness story
They’re the same questions McCasland has been asked for a month now, copy-and-paste jobs from ones he answered during the pre-tournament press conference on Thursday. Badgering the point again after his team, one picked by many to be upset because of Toppin’s absence, earned an emphatic win misses the point.
This isn’t the JT Toppin show anymore, and it hasn’t been for a while. Texas Tech has had to move on. While Toppin is still very much part of the team — he was on FaceTime with several Red Raider teammates in the locker room after the Akron game — it’s unfair to the players still on the floor to make it about the guy who isn’t there.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Jaylen Petty’s March Madness moment no surprise to Texas Tech basketball teammates
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf: Men’s March Madness 2026: Ranking the remaining 32 teams
Nate Oats’ squad steamrolled a Hofstra team that had been a popular upset pick after star Aden Holloway was arrested on a felony drug charge Monday, removed from campus and separated from the team. Instead, Labaron Philon Jr. (29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) proved he could carry the load without the team’s most impactful offensive player, per EvanMiya. However, Philon also had five turnovers. And Alabama missed 24 of its 36 3-point attempts. Holloway is their best 3-point shooter. The Crimson Tide can still overwhelm opponents with their scoring attack in this tournament, but they will miss Holloway as the level of competition rises.
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right here:
A trip to the Sweet 16 is on the line when No. 5 Texas Tech takes on No. 4 Alabama at 8:45 p.m. (CT) on Sunday in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region Second Round matchup at the Benchmark International Arena.
The Red Raiders (23-10) advanced with a 91-71 win over No. 12 Akron on Friday before the Crimson Tide (24-9) followed with a 90-70 victory over No. 13 Hofstra. Alabama leads the nation by scoring 91.7 points per game and with 35.4 3-point attempts per game. Tech enters the matchup fourth nationally by making 39.7% of its 3-point attempts and is sixth by making 11.5 3-pointers per game while the Crimson Tide are second in the country with 12.6 made 3-pointers per game.
“We don’t mind the up-tempo pace,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “That’s not really the issue. It’s more can we keep that up over the course of 40 minutes and how do we make sure that we keep our best players on the floor. That’s where Alabama has got a little more depth and pace in the way that we play. We’ve got to be opportunistic with how we push the ball, but then ultimately it’s how do we get great shots and how do we set our defense. That’s going to be the key to this one.”