Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Open Season Against Bulldogs
November 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2004
Tonight's game will be webcasted LIVE on the College Sports Pass!
Lubbock, TX - The 2004-2005 Men's Basketball season begins Friday night as Texas Tech hosts the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville at the United Spirit Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Last season the Red Raiders were 23-11 and earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament. They downed UNC Charlotte (76-73) before falling to Saint Joseph's (70-65) in the NCAA's Second Round at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York.
The Raiders of 2004-2005 post a 12-man roster, which features three seniors, six sophomores, and three freshmen. Three starters return from last season (Ross, Jackson, and Giles) and are joined by key reserves Drew Coffman, Darryl Dora, Curtis Marshall, Tanner Ogden, and LucQuente White. John Ofoegbu dons his Red Raider uniform after red-shirting last season. Freshmen Philip Harbaugh, Damir Suljagic, and Martin Zeno will may their way through the home court tunnel for their first image of a Red Raider homecourt crowd in the season opener.
The Bulldogs from Asheville, NC, and the Red Raiders will be meeting for the first time.
The Bulldogs are familiar with Big 12 teams having played a total of nine non-conference games against Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma since the 1993 season. Asheville is 0-9 against their Big 12 foes.
Eddie Biedenbach (NC State, 1968) begins his ninth season at Asheville with a record 111 wins and 121 losses. His career record is 140-172 as he begins his twelfth season as a head coach.
Last season, Asheville was 9-20 overall and they were 6-10 (7th) in the Big South Conference. They return all five starters from last season's team and have 11 of their 12 players from their 2003-2004 roster.
Bob Knight (Ohio State, 1962) begins his fourth season at the helm of the Raider program and has notched back-to-back-to-back 20+ wins in his first three seasons in Lubbock. In 38 seasons of coaching, he has taken his teams to post-season play 35 times.
Coach Knight numbers third among all coaches on the all-time career wins list with 832 victories. He is the youngest of the four coaches (Dean Smith-879, Adolph Rupp-876, Bob Knight-32, and Jim Phelan-830) and the only active coach to ever reach that remarkable plateau of 800 career victories.
Everyone in attendance at Friday's game will receive a copy of the 2004-2005 Media/Fan Guide.
John Harris will call the courtside action along with Chris Cassidy as analyst on KKAM (1340 AM), the flagship station for the Red Raiders. The season opener will be carried on the Texas Tech Television Network. Brian Jensen will call the play-by-play. Analyst Andy Hipsher will join him. Game coverage will not be provided in the Lubbock area. The satellite coordinates for the game are: Galaxy 11 - Transponder K 15.
The next home game is Saturday, November 27, against Centenary. The tip time has been changed to 8:00 PM as the Texas Tech-OSU football game kicks off at 2:30 PM.
For Men's Basketball tickets, please call (888) GO-BIG-12 or (806) 742-TECH or stop by the Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office in the north end of Jones SBC Stadium. Tickets also can be purchased through the Texas Tech athletic website at www.texastech.com and at area United Supermarkets and Select-a-Seat locations.
