Texas Tech will look to secure its first Big 12 win of the season when it hosts Baylor at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena following a pair of road losses last week.
The Red Raiders (10-7, 0-5 Big 12) are coming off a tough 72-70 loss at No. 10 Texas where they led by as many as 12 in the first half, while the Bears (12-5, 2-3 Big 12) rolled to a 74-58 home win over Oklahoma State last Saturday in Waco. Tech, which is 8-2 at home this season after going 18-0 on its home court last year, has lost five straight games for the first time since a pair of six-game losing streaks during the 2015 conference slate.
Tech swept the season series against Baylor last year for the first time since 2005 and is now 82-62 all-time in the series over the Bears. The Red Raiders are 47-21 in Lubbock against BU, including the two programs splitting the last 10 matchups at 5-5. Tech earned an 83-73 home win over the Bears last season after knocking off No. 1 Baylor in Waco with a 65-62 victory on January 11, 2022, before the mid-February matchup in Lubbock.
Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with 15.4 points this season and comes into this week with 996 rebounds and 1,937 points in his career. He’s currently ninth in scoring within the Big 12 after he had 10 rebounds and eight points in the loss against the Longhorns with four offensive rebounds. Daniel Batcho leads Tech with 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and three double-doubles while ranking third in rebounding and second in blocks in the Big 12. Tech freshman Pop Isaacs led the team with 23 points (12 in the second half) at Texas after making five 3-pointers for the third time this season. He now tops Tech with 17.0 points per Big 12 game played and 41 3-pointers made. De’Vion Harmon added 13 points at UT and is now averaging 13.4 points per game to go along with leading Tech with 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals. Jaylon Tyson is coming off his first career double-double after having 12 points and 14 rebounds at Texas. The Red Raiders are now 0-2 when leading at halftime in Big 12 games after having a 34-25 advantage at halftime against the Longhorns and also a 37-26 halftime lead at TCU in their Big 12 opener but were unable to earn the wins.
Baylor freshman Keyonte George leads the Bears with 17.2 points per game to go along with 59 assists and 19 steals, while senior Adam Flagler leads the team with 80 assists and is at 16.5 points per game. LJ Cryer led BU with 16 points in the win over Oklahoma State after going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and is now averaging 13.9 points per game. Jalen Bridges, who transferred from West Virginia, leads the Bears with 21 blocks and 5.4 rebounds per game while Flo Thamba is adding 5.2 rebounds and 5.6 points per game. George is from Lewisville, Texas, and is at 21.0 points through his first five Big 12 games. George, Flagler, Bridges, and Thamba have started all five conference games. Baylor is currently 1-2 on the road and averages 80.6 points per game as a team. BU started Big 12 play with three straight losses to Iowa State, TCU, and Kansas State but travels to Tech after a week with a pair of wins over West Virginia and OSU.
UP NEXT
Tech will take on No. 11 Kansas State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 21 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas following the Tuesday night game against Baylor. The Wildcats are currently 15-2 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play with a home game against No. 2 Kansas in front of them on Tuesday night before the Red Raiders come to town.
