Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Face Ohio State in Dallas
December 14, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2004
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Red Raiders have their first neutral site game of the season as they face the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the Second Annual O'Reilly Red Raider Christmas Classic on Thursday evening at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The tip-off will be at 8:00 p.m.
Texas Tech is 5-1 for the non-conference season. The Raiders downed UNC Asheville in their season opener 119-55, then fell to TCU on the road 83-68, and regained their winning ways with a 93-41 win over Centenary at the United Spirit Arena on November 27. They outdistanced the SMU Mustangs 105-67 on December 1, and then topped UTEP in El Paso 72-57 three days later. Tech met former Border Conference foe Northern Arizona on December 7 and earned an 81-65 win.
The Tech/OSU game will air on ESPN. Ron Franklin will call the play-by-play as Fran Fraschilla provides the color analysis. Stacey Dale-Shulman will be the sideline reporter.
This game marks the second meeting between the two teams. Last season the Raiders downed the Buckeyes 80-72 in Columbus on January 4. Andre Emmett led all scorers with 27 points. Nick Dials led the Buckeyes in scoring with 15 points.
Five current Red Raiders played in January's game. Devonne Giles had 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench and Ronald Ross dished out 7 assists and tallied 15 points. Jarrius Jackson was 4-of-4 from the field, with 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Darryl Dora and LucQuente White saw limited action.
Ohio State has three starters and ten players returning from last season's game. Tony Stockman heads OSU's scoring with 14.6 points per game. Terence Dials averages 12.3 points per game and is their leading rebounder with 7.0 rebounds per game. J. J. Sullinger, the third starter from the last Tech/OSU meeting, is the team's third leading scorer with 11.9 points per game.
In their last home game, Ronald Ross, Curtis Marshall, and Martin Zeno each tallied 16 points. Devonne Giles added 10 points. Eleven Raiders earned playing time as Drew Coffman and Zeno combined for 10 assists in the 81-65 win.
Mark Finkner will call the courtside action for Texas Tech and former Red Raider Chris Cassidy will provide the analysis on KKAM (1340 AM), the flagship station for the Red Raiders.
Tickets for the Texas Tech/Ohio State game can be purchased at the American Airlines Center or at any Ticketmaster outlet by calling (214) 373-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Several courtside tickets are available for the TT/OSU game and can be purchased by calling the Special Projects office of Men's Basketball at 806-742-7414 or the AAC ticket office.
Stop by any O'Reilly Auto Parts store location in the Metroplex for a coupon good for a $5 discount on $29 and $39 tickets.
For the second year in a row, Gary Housouer, a Texas Tech grad is leading the drive to give children the opportunity to see the Red Raiders play the Buckeyes on Thursday evening. Last year the "Raiders for Kids" initiative provided 850 tickets to 14 different organizations in the Metroplex. For further information or for those wishing to donate can contact Gary Housouer at housouer@hotmail.com or by going to the website www.raiderpower.com to view the posted information.
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.
