Texas Tech Basketball: Preview of the matchup with Texas-Rio Grande Valley
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will look to enter Big 12 play on a winning note as they face in-state foe UTRGV Vaqueros in their last early season non-conference game on Friday.
No. 11/No. 13 Texas Tech (10-1) will look to enter its conference slate of games with just one loss for the fourth straight season when they host UTRGV (8-6) on December 4. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. (CT) at United Supermarkets Arena and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest+ as well as Fox Sports Go.
This will be the sixth-ever meeting between the two programs. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series 5-0, although the two teams last played each other in 2005.
About Texas Tech
The Red Raiders had their 10-game winning streak snapped with their 69-58 loss to No. 2 Duke at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Texas Tech was outscored 16-3 over the last six minutes of the game. It was their lowest-scoring output of the season and marked the second time that they failed to reach the 60-point plateau.
Leading scoring Jarrett Culver poured in 25 points in the loss while also doling out four assists and nabbing six caroms. He was 9-for-21 from the field, which included a season-best 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. Culver, who poured in a career-high 30 points against Abilene Christian (Dec. 15), has now scored 20 or more points in five games and in double-figures in all 11.
While Texas Tech is not a high-scoring team, averaging 75.7 points a game, they do shoot the ball well mainly because they take good shots. The Red Raiders are currently 31st in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.9 percent as they make 54.1 percent (100th in the nation) of their two-point shots and 37.0 percent (75th) of their three-point attempts. Senior guard Matt Mooney is the only other player averaging double figures.
What the Raiders do really well is play strong physical defense. Texas Tech’s defense is arguably the best in the nation. They are the No. 2 in scoring defense in the country as they are allowing 52.8 points a game as they have held seven of their opponents to under that total. This includes holding No. 25 Nebraska to a season-low 52 points. Culver, Mooney, Davide Moretti, Edwards, Tariq Owens, and Brandone Francis are among the best defenders in the Big 12.
The Red Raiders also top the rankings in field goals allowed, field goal percentage defense (32.9 percent) and three-point percentage defense (24.1 percent). They are allowing their opponents to make less than five three-pointers a game, which ranks sixth in the nation. The Raiders are also 51st in the nation in blocked shots as they average a tad more than five blocks a contest.
Coach Chris Beard basically uses an eight-man rotation that consists of mainly seniors and sophomores. And he counts on everyone to make a contribution. Freshman guard Kyler Edwards leads the bench unit that accounts for 25 percent of the Raiders points along with 27.1 percent of the team’s rebounds.