Red Raider Preview: No. 5 Baylor

Wednesday, January 25

Waco, Texas

7:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 5 Baylor

January 24, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Game20BaylorNotes

The Red Raiders will play their third Top 10 opponent in No. 5 Baylor on Wednesday.

WACO, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team takes on its third Top 10 opponent of the Big 12 season when the Red Raiders travel to No. 5 Baylor Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.

Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with the Watch ESPN app. Dave Armstrong and Stephen Howard will serve as the announcing team.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will carry the game live on its flagship stations 97.3 FM, 100.7 FM and 950 AM in Lubbock. Geoff Haxton and Chris Level will have the call. The radio broadcast also will be available on the Texas Tech Sports Network radio affiliates, online at www.TexasTech.com and the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can interact live with Wednesday's broadcast @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

Texas Tech (14-5, 3-4 Big 12) looks to bounce back from its worst loss of the season, an 83-64 to Oklahoma State, last Saturday. The Red Raiders will enter Wednesday's contest in sole possession of sixth place in the Big 12 standings.

The Bears (18-1, 6-1 Big 12) are off to one of their best starts in program history and are the No. 1 rated RPI team. Baylor has already earned eight Top 50 wins which is second-most nationally only behind Florida State. The Bears hold a No. 5 ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls, the seventh straight week Baylor has notched a Top 5 spot.

Texas Tech possesses a 77-55 all-time lead in the series, but the Bears have won 16 of the last 21 decisions since the 2005-06 season. The two teams won on each other home courts last season. The Red Raiders amassed an 84-66 win, their largest margin of victory on the road over a ranked opponent.

"We have some guys on our team that are great guys," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Sometimes in the competition, the heat at this level, we need a little bit more grit. I'm looking for some of these nice guys we have to find another level of competitiveness. It's not about having that fire all the time, it's about getting ready to play. Some of toughest, most competitive people I've ever been around, are not flashy, show people. There's different ways to compete. Some of the toughest guys I know don't talk a lot, some don't have a lot of flash. We have some guys that have to individually figure out how to get themselves ready to play every night. I think that's where we are as a program right now. We're 3-3 – win one, lose one. Until you get to that level that each game is a big game on your schedule, and until they really grasp and believe it and understand it, it's difficult to take the next step."

About Texas Tech
The Red Raiders will look for their first Big 12 road win of the season after unsuccessful attempts versus Iowa State, No. 3 Kansas and Oklahoma.

Texas Tech checks in among the NCAA Top 30 in field goal percentage (49.8 – 12th) and fewest turnovers per game (11.4 – 28th). The 49.8 percent shooting clip would be the highest by the Red Raiders since the 1988-89 team shot 49.7 percent.

Keenan Evans has upped his scoring mark to 16.0 points per game which is seventh on the Big 12 leaderboard on the strength of a career-long eight straight games in double figures. He has lead the team in scoring nine times highlighted by a trio of 20-plus point outbursts. Evans has dialed up 21 of his 33 treys over his last 10 games and is scheduled to make his 52nd consecutive start for the Red Raiders.

Zach Smith has registered 15.7 points per game on 32-of-57 from the floor over his career-best six straight games in double figures. He continues to rank among the Big 12 Top 5 in rebounds per game (7.5 – 3rd), double-doubles (5 – 4th) and field goal percentage (57.9 – 5th). Smith also has posted 1.6 blocks per game and his 121 career blocks is second on Texas Tech's all-time list only behind Tony Battie with 162 career rejections.

Anthony Livingston and Aaron Ross are third and fourth on the team with 11.5 points and 9.9 points per game, respectively. Livingston has buried a team-leading 35 triples and his 41.7 three-point rate is fifth in the Big 12 rankings. Ross will scheduled to make his 99th career appearance on Wednesday. His season high is 17 points versus Auburn and No. 3 Kansas earlier this season.

Justin Gray and Devon Thomas have started the last 15 games for the Red Raiders. Thomas paces the squad with 69 assists and 25 steals. He has come away with 5.8 points, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has tallied 10-plus points in two of his last three outings which includes an 11-point effort versus Oklahoma State. Gray tallied a Big 12 season-high 18 points during the TCU game and has hit on 66-of-102 on two-point attempts.

Thomas Brandsma, Shadell Millinghaus, Niem Stevenson and Matthew Temple round out Texas Tech's 10-man playing rotation. The duo of Millinghaus and Stevenson have totaled double figures points eight times. They combined for nine points against Oklahoma State last time out.

About Baylor
The Bears are one of the nation's Top 15 in scoring defense (60.4 – 7th) and rebounding margin (+8.2 – 10th). Only one team has eclipsed 70 points against Baylor this season which was Florida Gulf Coast all the way back on Nov. 18.

Johnathan Motley, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, has had a special junior campaign. He is rated among the Big 12 Top 10 in points (15.7), rebounds (9.6), blocks (1.4) and field goal percentage (51.4). Motley, a Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 finalist, has piled up double figures in 15 of 18 games and exploded for a career-best 32 points and 20 rebounds versus Texas on Jan. 17.

Manu Lecomte has turned in 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. The preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year has lived up to the expectations and has knocked down a team-leading 35 three-pointers. Lecomte has reached double figures in three of his last five games highlighted by a season's best 26 points at Kansas State on Jan. 14.

Al Freeman and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. have chipped in 10.9 points and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Lual-Acuil, a 7-foooter from Australia, has registered four or more blocks on eight occasions and his 2.8 blocks per game headline the Big 12. The Bears have posted a 33-6 mark over the last three seasons when Freeman goes for 10-plus points.

"I think that the personnel fits the program, and Coach Drew's personality better than ever," Beard said. "I think for an example, their power forward (Johnathan Motley), is a special player but a different player this season. Their long and quick, can shoot, inside and out. I think that Baylor teams are always teams that have a lot of perseverance. They never get too low. They can lose a game and then win three straight when you didn't think they would. It's the personality that the coaching staff that is steady. This year's team is a perfect match. Again, from the outside looking in, I think this is a team that could win the Big 12. This is the best Baylor team I've ever seen."

Up Next
Texas Tech plays host to LSU on Saturday as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff is on-tap for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU in addition to the Watch ESPN app.

Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday's game for as low as $15 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Saturday's game is Super Heroes Day at the United Supermarkets Arena. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to take pregame photos with their favorite Super Heroes on the concourse. Complimentary food and drink will be provided in the Student Lounge while supplies last.

Texas Tech is offering enhancements for the remainder of the season to better serve its fans. The S1 Parking Lot at the John Walker Soccer Complex will be open for free parking for all fans. Texas Tech also will provide a free shuttle beginning 75 minutes prior to tipoff and 60 minutes following the game to transport fans to and from the United Supermarkets Arena.

Fans are reminded to go clear at all Texas Tech basketball games. The clear bag policy provides a safer atmosphere and speeds up the entry process into the United Supermarkets Arena.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB along with @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.