Texas Tech is set to play two Big 12 road games this week, starting in Ames, Iowa against No. 14 Iowa State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Hilton Coliseum before playing No. 10 Texas on Saturday night at the Moody Center in Austin.
The Red Raiders (10-5, 0-3 Big 12) suffered a 68-63 overtime loss to Oklahoma on Saturday in Lubbock, while the Cyclones (12-2, 3-0 Big 12) earned a 69-67 win over No. 17 TCU in Fort Worth to extend a five-game winning streak. Tech, which had not lost back-to-back games since the 2020-21 season, will now look to avoid a 0-4 start to its conference schedule for the first time since 2015 when that team started 0-6.
Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with 16.4 points per game this season after going for 15 points and seven rebounds in 45 minutes of play against the Sooners, while De’Vion Harmon matched a career-high with 23 points in the overtime loss. Harmon leads Tech with 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals to go along with 12.4 points per game. Tech played against Oklahoma with two starters – Daniel Batcho and Pop Isaacs – who were both out due to injury. Batcho is working through a dislocated finger that he suffered trying to block a shot at the end of the Kansas game while Isaacs is in concussion protocol after hitting his head on the court on Tech’s final possession against the Jayhawks. Batcho leads Tech with 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game to go along with scoring 11.8 points per game, while Isaacs had started all 14 games before missing the OU game. He is averaging 11.3 points per game and leads Tech with 35 3-pointers in his freshman season. Obanor comes into the week ninth in the Big 12 in scoring and eighth in rebounding, while Batcho is third in rebounding and second in blocked shots.
Iowa State is currently 8-0 at the Hilton Coliseum this season, including earning a 77-62 win over Baylor on New Year’s Eve to begin Big 12 play. The Cyclones are coming off a dramatic win at TCU with Gabe Kalscheur making a 3-pointer in the final seconds to a two-point road win. Kalscheur led Iowa State with 15 points in the game where he was 0-for-5 on 3-pointers before drilling the game-winner. He is averaging 10.9 points per for the season. Jaren Holmes leads the Cyclones with 13.0 points per game this season along with adding 45 assists and 17 steals. Tamin Lipsey, a starter in all 14 games along with Holmes and Osun Osunniyi, tops ISU with 63 assists and is coming off a game in Fort Worth where he had 10 points and three assists. Iowa State is holding opponents to only 58.2 points per game this season.
Texas Tech and Iowa State are even at 21-21 in the all-time series with the teams splitting the regular-season series last year before the Red Raiders secured a 72-41 quarterfinals win at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. The Cyclones won 51-47 in Ames on January 5, 2022… Tech is 6-14 all-time at Hilton Coliseum… Tech has won 8 of 10 in the series, including 3 of 4 in Ames… The two programs will meet again on Monday, January 30 in Lubbock.
