Texas Tech will look to win back-to-back games in the BIG 12 this season when they play No.11 Baylorits first Big 12 win of the season when it hosts No. 21 Baylor at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas following Texas Tech’s epic comeback against No.13 Iowa State
The Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8Big 12) are coming off an 80-77 win against No.13 Iowa State where they led by as many as 17 in the first half, while the Bears (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) rolled to a 76-71 road loss against No.10 Texas this past Monday in Austin Tech, which is 1-4 in away games. Despite that Texas Tech seems to have a newfound spark to get this team back on track
“We’re excited about getting better,” Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “We are seeing our team move in the direction we want it to move. We hope it’s good enough to beat a very good Baylor team. They have some momentum now.”
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 47-22 in Lubbock against BU after Baylor beat Tech 81-74 earlier this season at home, 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 1,000 rebounds and 2,000 points in his career. He’s currently 8th in scoring within the Big 12. Daniel Batcho leads Tech with 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and three double-doubles while ranking 6th in rebounding and 2nd in blocks in the Big 12. Tech freshman Pop Isaacs who has been out as of late now tops Tech with 17.0 points per Big 12 game played and with 41 3-pointers made. De’Vion Harmon is now averaging 13.4 points per game to go along with leading Tech with 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals.
“Teams can be dangerous if they’re hungry and have their backs to the wall,” Adams said. “We have to fit that mold. I would like to think that we are dangerous. We want to get that win.”
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 loss over Texas 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 is averaging 80.6 points per game as a team. BU started Big 12 play with three straight losses to Iowa State, TCU and Kansas State.
