PREVIEW: Northwestern State

LUBBOCK, Texas – On an eight-game winning streak to start the season and having won 43 non-conference home games in a row, No. 11-ranked Texas Tech will host Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (8-0) are 5-0 at home this season and 4-0 all-time against the Demons (2-7) with the last meeting coming in 2014 and resulted in a 75-64 win. TTU has not lost a non-conference home game since Dec. 18, 2013 and is coming off a 65-47 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Wednesday where the Red Raiders limited the Golden Lions to only 32.6 percent shooting. Northwestern State has lost three straight after dropping an 80-59 game to Texas A&M last week in College Station and is the first of two Southland Conference opponents coming to Lubbock this week. The Red Raiders will also host Abilene Christian (9-1) at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Throwback Game at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.

POLLS/STAT RANKINGS: Texas Tech remains one of only nine teams in the nation still unbeaten and is up two spots to No. 11 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Along with the two national polls, the Red Raiders (8-0) moved up one spot to No. 4 in the NCAA NET Rankings and to No. 9 in the ESPN Power Rankings after spending the past two weeks at No. 10. Statistically, TTU leads the nation by limiting opponents to only 33.7 percent shooting and is second in scoring defense (52.5) behind only Virginia which is at 51.2 points allowed per game. The team is also fifth nationally with a 24.3 margin of victory, seventh in 3-point defense (25.6%) and eighth with a plus-6 turnover margin advantage. Texas Tech is in both national polls for the third straight week after beginning unranked in the preseason poll through the third week of the season. The team entered the polls for the first time this season at No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Top 25 in the fourth poll before moving up to No. 13 in both last week. Kansas (8-0) moved up to the top-ranked team in the nation in both polls this week, while Duke (9-1), Tennessee (7-1), Gonzaga (9-1) and Michigan (10-0) make up the AP top-five. The USA Today poll has KU, Duke, Virginia (9-0), Tennessee and Michigan as its top-five.

HISTORICAL START: The Red Raiders are off to the best start since beginning the 2009-10 season with a 9-0 record and are 8-0 for only the third time in program history. TTU, which has won all eight of its games by double digits this season, began the 1929-30 season with a 12-0 record for the best start in school history in what was the fifth year of play for the program.

PLAYER NOTES: Jarrett Culver leads the Red Raiders with 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game through eight games of his sophomore season. Culver has scored in double-digits in all eight games and has led the team in scoring in seven. A Lubbock native, he has scored 20 or more points in four games this season including matching a career-high with 26 points in the win over Nebraska where he shot 9-for-18 from the field with three 3-pointers in Kansas City. Culver also had 18 points and nine rebounds in the win over Southern Cal and scored 20 points against Northern Colorado and Memphis. He's coming off scoring 13 points and adding seven rebounds and four assists. Culver currently ranks third in the conference with his 4.5 assists per game and is fourth in scoring.

Matt Mooney scored 11 points in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Wednesday after going 5-for-8 from the field and is averaging 10.6 points and 4.0 assists per game. A graduate transfer from South Dakota, Mooney scored a season-high 17 points against USC when he went 6-for-12 from the field and hit two 3-pointers. He's already recorded three six-assist performances this season and had four steals against USC. Davide Moretti is adding 9.9 points and 2.6 assists per game in his sophomore season, while Tariq Owens leads the Big 12 with 3.0 blocks per game which also ranks eighth in the nation. Owens is adding 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game to start off his senior season after transferring from St. John's. He established a new Texas Tech single-game record with eight blocked shots in the win over Memphis where he also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds two weeks ago in Miami and also had a six-block performance against Incarnate Word in the opener. He scored a career-high 18 points and added four rebounds against USC and then had eight rebounds against Nebraska. His double-double against Memphis is the only double-double by a Red Raider this season. Moretti scored a career-high 17 points against Mississippi Valley State and Southern Cal this season and is coming off a game against UAPB where he had nine. Moretti is shooting 46.4 percent from the field this season and also has 21 assists. Norense Odiase is adding 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 points per game for the Red Raiders, including securing a career-high 13 rebounds against Southeastern Louisiana after having 10 against MVSU.

Culver, Mooney, Moretti, Owens and Odiase have started all eight games for the Red Raiders this season.

Brandone Francis, Kyler Edwards and Deshawn Corprew have led the Texas Tech reserves throughout the season. A senior from the Dominican Republic, Francis is averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders with three games in double-digits. He scored a season-high 13 points in the opener against UIW and then had 11 against Northern Colorado and 10 against Memphis. He has recorded 14 assists in the past three games with four against Northern Colorado and UAPB between a career-high six in the win over Memphis. Edwards is averaging 7.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in his freshman season after going for 10 points last week against UAPB. An Arlington native, Edwards scored a career-high 19 points against Northern Colorado after going 7-for-7 from the field, including knocking down four 3-pointers in the game and adding three assists. Corprew is at 7.4 points per game and is adding 4.4 rebounds, including a season-best 13 points against Northern Colorado. He also scored 12 points in the win over Memphis and has pulled down 20 rebounds in the past four games.

THE OPPONENT: Ishmael Lane leads the Demons through nine games by averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while DeAndre Love is at 8.8 points per game and C.J. Jones has 22 assists. A senior from Port Allen, Louisiana, Lane is a 6-foot-8, 250-pound center who scored 16 points in the loss to the Aggies last week in College Station. He's scored a season-high 24 points against SMU and also had 18 against BYU and Alabama A&M. He would record a double-double at SMU by adding 13 rebounds to his 24 points.

The Demons, who play out of the Southland Conference, are shooting 37.8 percent from the field coming into the game and are at 28.4 percent on 3-pointers. Northwestern State has been on a nine-day break from competition after its loss against the Aggies and will be playing its seventh road game of the season on Wednesday against the Red Raiders. NSU is currently 0-6 on the road after taking on SMU, BYU, Rice, Houston, UTEP and Texas A&M on their home courts.

COVERING THE RED RAIDERS: Texas Tech and Northwestern State will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest Plus with John Harris and Chris Level calling the game. On the radio, Geoff Haxton and Clark Lammert will broadcast on Texas Tech Sports Network's flagship station Double T 97.3 in Lubbock. Fans can interact with the broadcast by following @GunsUpRadio on Twitter.

UP NEXT: Texas Tech will host Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. The game between the Red Raiders and Wildcats will be the final basketball game in the historic facility and will be followed by Texas Tech traveling to New York to play Duke on Thursday, Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden.

FOLLOW TEXAS TECH: Fans and media can stay connected by following the team @TexasTechMM on Twitter and Instagram and at Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB.

TICKETS: The Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office is selling season tickets for as low as $135 online at www.TexasTech.com. Fans also can purchase season tickets in person at the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office located on the East Side of Jones AT&T Stadium or over the phone at (806) 742-8324 (TECH). The ACU game at the Coliseum will not be a part of the 2018-19 season ticket package.

Happy birthday to the toughest guy on our team, Colin Baxter! We hope you like your @PatrickMahomes5 jersey! #4To1 pic.twitter.com/HY9KhY18NA
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 11, 2018

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Players Mentioned

Brandone Francis

Deshawn Corprew

Jarrett Culver

Kyler Edwards

Matt Mooney

Davide Moretti

Norense Odiase

Tariq Owens