Texas Tech has won three of its last five games coming into an 8 p.m. ESPN Big Monday matchup where it will look to take down No. 5 Texas at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) are coming off a 71-63 win over No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday night, while the Longhorns (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) rolled to a 94-60 victory against West Virginia in Austin. UT took a 72-70 win over Tech in the first matchup between the two teams this season. Tech is currently 10-4 on its home court this season, including knocking off ranked conference opponents in its last two home games.
“They’ve got the oldest team in the conference and are playing like it,” Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “They are very physical so we’ll have to try to figure out how to match that physicality. We’ll have to play extremely well and need a great crowd for the game. We’re excited to play them. They’ve gotten even better than the last time we saw them in Austin.”
De’Vion Harmon led Tech with 20 points in the win over K-State and is now producing a team-best 14.4 points per game in Big 12 play. He has scored in double figures in seven straight games coming into the matchup against Texas and also leads Tech with 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Kevin Obanor tops Tech in scoring and rebounding for the season, averaging 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game after contributing 10 and six rebounds on Saturday. A fifth-year senior with 148 games of experience, he now has 107 games of double-figure scoring in a career where he has 2,053 points and 1,047 rebounds. Jaylon Tyson scored in double figures for the fourth straight game after adding 11 points in the win over K-State following a career-high 20 points at Oklahoma State on Wednesday. Tyson, who began his career at UT, is providing 10.4 points and 6.0 rebounds as a sophomore.
Tech’s youth movement includes four freshmen joining Daniel Batcho and Tyson as sophomores who have all contributed throughout the season. Pop Isaacs has missed the past five games due to injury but is averaging 11.6 points per game and leads Tech with 47 3-pointers as a freshman, while Lamar Washington is coming off a career-high 13 points and five steals in the win over K-State. Elijah Fisher made his first career start against K-State and fellow freshman Robert Jennings provided four rebounds, three points, and a career-high two blocks. The four Tech freshmen are all averaging over nine minutes per game and are providing a combined 21.4 points and 8 rebounds per game. Batcho was out against K-State with a lower-body injury and is contributing 8.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and leads Tech with 35 blocked shots.
The Longhorns lead the Big 12 by averaging 80.0 points per game with four players averaging in double figures. Marcus Carr leads Texas with 16.9 points per game, 99 assists and 42 steals this season, while Sir’Jabari Rice is at 11.7 ppg., Timmy Allen is scoring 11.2 ppg. and Tyrese Hunter averages 10.0 ppg. Rice led the Longhorns with a season-high 24 points in the win over WVU after going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Carr added 16 points, Allen had 14 points and nine rebounds, and freshman Arterio Morris provided 12 points.
Tech is currently 2-8 this season against ranked opponents. The wins came in its last two home games, an 80-77 overtime victory over No. 13 Iowa State where the Red Raiders overcame a 23-point deficit for the victory before Saturday’s win over K-State.
