PREVIEW: Tech begins homestand against No. 12 K-State

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech is set to host a pair of nationally-ranked Big 12 opponents in a two-game homestand starting with No. 12 Kansas State at 6 p.m. on Saturday before taking on No. 5 Texas at 8 p.m. on Monday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (12-12, 1-10 Big 12) are coming off a 71-68 loss after a last-second putback at Oklahoma State on Wednesday, while the Wildcats (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) cruised to an 82-61 home win over No. 17 TCU on Tuesday in Manhattan. K-State won the first matchup against Tech with a 68-58 win on January 21, but have lost eight straight to the Red Raiders in Lubbock. The Longhorns (18-5, 8-3 Big 12) rallied for a 72-70 win over the Red Raiders on January 14 and will host West Virginia on Saturday before coming to Lubbock for an ESPN Big Monday matchup.

Tech, which led K-State and UT at halftime in the previous meetings, fell to 0-4 in games decided by five points or less in conference play with its loss in Stillwater and will look to improve on a 1-4 home record in conference games. Tech had a 29-game home winning streak before starting conference play.

Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season, while De'Vion Harmon is coming off 19 points at OSU to take his season stats to 13.0 ppg. and a team-high 85 assists and 43 steals. Obanor, who has 2,043 points and 1,041 rebounds in his career, is currently seventh in rebounding and ninth in scoring among the Big 12 statistical leaders. Jaylon Tyson went for a career-high 20 points against the Cowboys on Wednesday night after recording his third double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday at Baylor. A sophomore guard, Tyson is now averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game (ranked ninth in the Big 12). Down as many as 14 at Oklahoma State, Tyson and Harmon sparked a comeback that had the game tied after a 3-pointer from Tyson with a minute to play and a layup by Harmon with 18 seconds remaining to bring the game to 68-68. OSU won the game with a putback off a missed jumper with the clock at 0.8. Harmon had 13 second-half points, while Tyson scored 12 of his 20 in the second half.

Tech once again played without starter Pop Isaacs for the fourth straight game and without senior Fardaws Aimaq who had missed 21 games this season and five straight. Isaacs leads Tech with 47 3-pointers made this season and is averaging 11.6 points per game in his freshman season. Daniel Batcho is second in the Big 12 with 1.7 blocks per game (35 total) and is also adding 6.0 rpg. Kerwin Walton and Lamar Washington started the past two games, while freshman Elijah Fisher is coming off six points and three rebounds against OSU in 18 minutes to lead the reserves.

Keyontae Johnson leads K-State and is third in the Big 12 with 18.0 points per game and is also adding 7.6 rebounds per game which ranks fourth in the conference. A transfer from Florida, Johnson had 14 points and seven rebounds on Tuesday against TCU. Markquis Nowell led K-State in that game with 18 points and seven assists – taking his Big 12 leading assists-per-game average to 7.8. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 with 17.2 assists per game as a team and is scoring 76.9 with a plus-8.9 scoring margin. K-State is led by head coach Jerome Tang who was an assistant coach at Baylor for 19 seasons. Tang is assisted this season by Ulric Maligi who was a Tech assistant coach during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Tech is currently 1-8 this season against ranked opponents. The win came in its last home game, an 80-77 overtime victory over No. 13 Iowa State where the Red Raiders overcame a 23-point deficit for the victory.

TECH vs. K-STATE (ROUND 1)
Tech led 33-28 at halftime over Kansas State on January 21 in Manhattan before seeing the No. 13 Wildcats earn a 68-58 home win in the first game of the season series. Isaacs and Harmon led the Red Raiders with 13 points each while Obanor had nine points and eight rebounds. Nowell led K-State with 23 points after hitting four 3-pointers and going 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, while Johnson added 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Tech was limited to 27.5 percent shooting in the second half, including going just 3-for-20 on 3-pointers to see its five-point halftime lead turn into a 10-point loss.

INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State leads the all-time series by a 25-23 margin after its win at home in the first game this season and the programs splitting last season with the home teams winning… The Red Raiders are 15-7 at home against the Wildcats, including winning eight straight in Lubbock and having won 11 of the last 15 overall matchups… K-State had won 10 in a row over the Red Raiders from 2009-2015… The two programs were 2019 Co-Big 12 Regular Season Champions…Tech is looking to avoid its first sweep by the Wildcats since the 2014 conference slate… K-State has not won in Lubbock since 2014.

UP NEXT
Texas Tech has a quick turnaround where it will host No. 5 Texas at 8 p.m. on Monday on ESPN. The Red Raiders took a 72-70 loss to the Longhorns on January 14 at the Moody Center in Austin in the first matchup between the two teams. Isaacs led Tech with 23 points in that game after hitting five 3-pointers, while Harmon scored 13 and Tyson recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. The Red Raiders swept the series against the Longhorns last season, earning a 77-64 home win on February 1, 2022, before a 61-55 road victory on February 19,2022. Tech has won 9 of the last 12 matchups against Texas in the series.

RED RAIDER STORYLINES
• Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 39-22 overall, 13-16 in Big 12 games and 27-4 at home… A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record, 12-6 conference mark, to the Big 12 Championship final and the NCAA Sweet 16 in his first season as the head coach… He was named the Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year… His 27 wins last season were the most by a first-year Tech head coach… Adams is 1-2 against Kansas State as a head coach
• Tech trailed No. 13 Iowa State 39-22 at halftime and by as many as 23 points in the second half last Monday before storming back for an 80-77 overtime win… The comeback is the largest in program history surpassing a 21-point comeback against Texas A&M in the 2009 Big 12 Championship tournament… The Aggies led that game 48-29 at halftime and were up 50-29 after a pair of early free throws in the second half… The Tech record book previously did not have this comeback accounted for and had a 17-point comeback at Nevada in 1997 as the biggest comeback… This season, Tech had overcame an 11-point deficit against Nicholls for its previous largest comeback this season
• Kevin Obanor joined Tech Hall of Fame member Rick Bullock as the only players in program history to reach the 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound milestone… Bullock played all four seasons at Texas Tech and scored 2,118 points and had 1,057 during his career from 1972-76… Bullock averaged 19.8 points and 9.9 rebounds in 107 career games… Obanor reached the milestone with his first basket against Iowa State and was named to the Julius Erving Award Top 10 earlier this week
• Tech is currently 1-8 against ranked opponents this season after its win over No. 13 Iowa State last Monday before its 89-62 loss at No. 11 Baylor… The team has losses to No. 9 Creighton in Maui before falling at No. 18 TCU, vs. No. 3 Kansas, at No. 14 Iowa State, at No. 10 Texas, No. 21 Baylor, at No. 13 Kansas State and at No. 11 Baylor
• Tech is 9-4 at home, 1-5 on the road and 2-2 in neutral-court games this season
• Tech is 1-1 in overtime games this season with its 80-77 win over Iowa State after taking a 68-63 overtime loss against Oklahoma… Both overtime games have been at home
• The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last year… Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020… Tech is currently 69 overall in Kenpom - 69 defensively and 74 offensively
• Tech had lost eight straight Big 12 games for the first time since 2012 before topping No. 13 Iowa State… Tech was coming off a season where it did not lose back-to-back games under Adams… 5 of the 9 Big 12 losses have come by seven points or less… The longest losing streak for Tech to begin a Big 12 season is going 0-11 to start the 2012 conference schedule… That team went 1-17 in Big 12 play with its win coming against Iowa State who was ranked No. 9 at the time
• Tech is 0-3 when leading at halftime in Big 12 games after seeing a 33-28 advantage slip away at KSU… The Red Raiders were up 11 at halftime at TCU and led by nine at halftime at Texas… All three halftime leads that were lost were on the road
• Tech trailed at Iowa State by a 39-20 margin at halftime and lost 84-50… Both were the largest margins this season… Creighton had won by 11 for Tech's only double-digit loss this season
• Tech returned only one starter (Kevin Obanor) and three lettermen (Daniel Batcho, KJ Allen and Obanor) from last year's team while welcoming in five transfers (D'Maurian Williams, Fardaws Aimaq, Jaylon Tyson, De'Vion Harmon, Kerwin Walton) and five true freshmen (Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, Elijah Fisher, Robert Jennings, CJ Williams)… The Red Raiders lost nine contributing players from last year's Sweet 16 team with four exhausting eligibility, four transferring and Clarence Nadolny turning pro overseas
• Tech has three players who have scored over 1,000 points in their careers with Obanor (2,043), Harmon (1,241) and Aimaq (1,086)
• Tech had its season-best six-game winning streak end with the loss at TCU in its Big 12 opener on New Year's Eve in Fort Worth… It started the season with three straight wins before falling against Creighton in Maui
• Tech had a 29-game home winning streak end with its first Big 12 home game this season after going 8-0 at home in non-conference play… The last home loss before falling to No. 3 Kansas on January 3 and then Oklahoma came back on February 9, 2021, against No. 14 West Virginia in an 82-71 defeat… Tech's program record remains at 35 straight home victories… That streak started with four wins at the end of the 1993-94 season before a pair of 13-0 runs (1994-95 and 1995-96) and then five home wins to start the 1996-97 season
• Tech came into Big 12 play having scored over 100 points in three straight games… The program had not scored 100+ points in three straight games since the 1965-66 season… Tech had not scored over 100 points in two straight games since 1996 in a 111-101 win over Fresno State and a 122-105 loss to New Mexico State… The Red Raiders are now 70-4 all-time when scoring over 100 points… The 111 points against HCU were just outside the top-10 scoring performances in program history… The most points scored in a game is 128 against Texas in 2004
• Tech is making 46.2 percent of its shots this season; opponents are being limited to 42.2 percent… The Red Raiders limited Louisville to only 22.4 percent shooting and also held Northwestern State to only 28.4 in their best defensive efforts of the season… In 11 Big 12 games, Tech is shooting just 41.1 percent and opponents are at 45.5 percent
• In non-conference play, Tech made 14 3-pointers against South Carolina which was the most since they hit a program-best 16 against Kansas in 2019… Tech made 13 3s against Jackson State for a previous season-high… Tech had its worst 3-point shooting performance of the season against Oklahoma by going just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc in the overtime loss
• In non-conference play, Tech forced a season-high 30 turnovers from Jackson State and scored 47 points off those turnovers… Tech had 19 steals in the game led by Obanor who had four while Isaacs, Washington and Williams had three steals each… The program record for steals in a game is 24 against Nicholls in 2002… The 19 matched the second-most ever for a Red Raider team
• In non-conference play, the 50-point win over Jackson State was the 14th time in program history a Tech team has won by 50 or more
• Tech has won six games by 20 or more points this season, including the 50-point win over JSU, topping HSU by 44, winning by 39 over SC State and a 34-point win over Louisville in Maui… The Red Raiders have held five opponents under 60 points, two under 50 and one under 40 with Louisville scoring only 38 points
• Last season, Tech was 12-6 in Big 12 play, including going 9-0 in home games… The Red Raiders advanced to the Big 12 Championship Finals where they lost to Kansas
• Last season, Tech finished with an 18-0 record at home in 2021-22 season which was only matched by Kentucky going 18-0 at Rupp Arena… Tech outscored opponents 79.7 to 58.8 per game with opponents shooting 39.1 percent… 16 of the 18 home wins were by double-digits with the only ones not by 10 or more being victories over Kansas (75-67, +8) and Kansas State (73-68, +5)
• As a program, Tech advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the sixth time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time – a new Tech record… The Red Raiders advanced to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 Championship Final, 2021 Second Round and 2022 Sweet 16… Tech has an 11-4 record over the past four tournaments… The program has made the Sweet 16 in three of the past four tournaments
• Corey Williams returned as an assistant coach for his second season at Tech while Steve Green and Al Pinkins joined the staff as assistant coaches during the offseason… Pinkins returned to Tech after four seasons at Florida following working at Tech from 2016-18… He was the interim head coach at Florida in the 2022 NIT… Green was at South Plains College for the past 23 seasons where he was a national champion… Adams has built a staff that also includes: Rick Cooper (chief of staff), Taylor Sinclair (director of operations), Sean Sutton (advisor), Darryl Dora (player personnel), Matt Scherbenske (director of recruiting), George Neilson (director of scouting), Darby Rich (strength & conditioning), John Bloom (assistant strength & conditioning), Luke Adams (player development), Cooper Anderson (coordinator of operations), Jamaal Scott (academics) and Briana Whitaker (executive associate)
• The Red Raiders had a sell-out (15,098) for their 2022-23 season-opener against Northwestern State after they finished 11th nationally in average attendance last season with 13,973 fans per game and 251,515 total... Tech is averaging 13,020 fans through its 13 homes this season after having 14,385 against Kansas, 14,082 with Oklahoma in town and 14,152 versus Baylor… Tech is currently 20th nationally in average attendance and third within the Big 12 behind Kansas and Iowa State

ROSTER REPORT
• Kevin Obanor leads Texas Tech into the matchup against K-State with 2,043 points and 1,041 rebounds through 147 games in his career… On Wednesday, Obanor was named a Top 10 finalist for the Julius Erving Award before contributing 15 points and seven rebounds in the game against Oklahoma State… He recorded the 37^th double-double of his career last Monday with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the overtime win over Iowa State… A fifth-year senior, Obanor reached the 2K points, 1K rebounds milestone in the win over the Cyclones to join Virginia's Jayden Gardner and LSU's KJ Williams as the only other active players currently with over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds… He has now started all 61 games since he joined the Red Raiders last season and is leading the team with 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season… Obanor is now averaging 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds through 11 Big 12 games… He was 11-for-15 from the free-throw line against Iowa State and has now made 458 free throws in his career at an 81.8 percentage after making three more at OSU… Obanor scored a season-high 26 points against Kansas where he was 8-for-14 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers against the Jayhawks in 37 minutes of play… A Houston native, he has scored in double figures in 18 of 24 games this season, 107 in his career and is shooting 122-for-245 (49.8 percent) from the field this season… He now has 737 points as a Red Raider... He finished last season with double-doubles in each of the three NCAA Tournament games against Montana State (10 points/11 rebounds), Notre Dame (15/15) and Duke (10/10)… Obanor started his college career with three seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Tech last season… He earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season and was on the All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention list along with the Julius Erving Award Watch List to start this year… Last season, he scored a season-high 23 points and also had 13 rebounds in the home win over Baylor before going for 15 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Notre Dame to reach the Sweet 16… While at ORU, Obanor scored 39 points against Omaha in a game where he hit six 3-pointers for his career-high… Six of his 37 career double-doubles have come in the NCAA Tournament with three during ORU's Sweet 16 run before last season… Obanor has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and in 33 games in his career.
• De'Vion Harmon has scored in double-figures in six straight games after he led Tech with 20 points at Baylor last Saturday and followed it with 19 points at Oklahoma State – including tying the game at 68 with 18 seconds remaining with a layup… He leads Tech for the season with 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals this season to go along with a career-high 13.0 points per game… Harmon has scored in double figures in 19 games this season and in 69 during his career… He matched his career-high with 23 points against Oklahoma back on January 7 with 21 of those points coming in the second half and followed the performance with a team-high 14 points, four assists, five steals and five rebounds at Iowa State… Against Oklahoma (where he started his college career), Harmon was 9-for-15 from the field in the game and also hit five free throws before going 6-for-13 from the field in Ames, Iowa… A senior in his first season at Tech with another year of eligibility, he has played in 115 career games, scoring 1,241 points to go along with 271 assists and 151 steals… Harmon averaged 10.8 points per game and had 71 assists last season at Oregon last season after averaging 12.9 points per game at Oklahoma as a sophomore… Harmon started 34 of 35 games last year and a season-high 21 points coming against Stanford… His career-high 23 points came in his first game as a freshman at Oklahoma against UTSA on November 5, 2019, and then again as a sophomore for the Sooners against Oklahoma State on February 27, 2021… Harmon is averaging 13.9 points in Big 12 games along with 27 assists and 19 steals… His streak of six straight double-figure scoring performances is the longest he's had this season.
• Jaylon Tyson established a new career-high with 20 points at Oklahoma State in a game where he scored 12 of those points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with a minute to play to cut OSU's lead to one… He was 8-for-16 from the field with two 3-pointers and two free throws… Tyson recorded the third double-double of his career last Saturday with 19 points and 10 rebounds at Baylor… He is tied with Batcho for the team lead this season in double-doubles…Tyson was 8-for-14 from the field and hit three 3-pointers against the Bears to match his previous career-high in scoring which came in the home game against Baylor… He was coming off a game against Iowa State with 11 points, nine rebounds and a career-high four assists… It was the third game this season where he missed a double-double by one rebound… Tyson had his first two double-doubles this season by going for a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds against Baylor at home following 12 points and 14 rebounds at Texas… A sophomore from Plano, Tyson is averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season… His 14 rebounds against the Longhorns were a career-best and the first time he had double-digit rebounds after having nine rebounds in games this season against Georgetown and Kansas… Tyson, who transferred from Texas last season, led Tech with nine rebounds against Kansas and added 10 points, three steals and three assists in the game… He was just one rebound shy of his first career double-double in games against Georgetown and Kansas before getting it against the Longhorns… Tyson has scored in double figures in 12 games this season and has had five or more rebounds in 15 of 23 games played… A starter in 23 games, Tyson transferred to Tech at midterm last season but did not play in a game for the Red Raiders… Tyson is currently 31-for-83 (37.3 percent) on 3-pointers and has made at least one 3-pointer in 18 of 23 games played… The game at LSU was the first that he did not take a 3-point attempt… Against Northwestern State, in his first game at Tech, Tyson made his first collegiate start and was 3-for-4 from the field, including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointers to finish with eight points… His 3-pointer on Tech's second possession of the season-opener was the first basket this season for the Red Raiders… He began his career at the University of Texas where he played in eight games with freshman season-high 11 points coming against Houston Christian last season.
• Daniel Batcho leads Tech with 1.7 blocks per game to go along with scoring 8.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season… A 6-foot-11 sophomore from Paris, France, Batcho was on a streak of 12 straight games with at least one blocked shot after having two more at LSU but has not recorded one in the past three games… Batcho scored eight points and had seven rebounds for the Red Raiders in the win over LSU… He has 17 blocked shots through 10 Big 12 games played after having conference-best five at TCU and then three more against KU… He currently has 35 blocks for the season and 52 in his career… Prior to conference play, he had a 12/10 performance against Jackson State which was his third double-double of the season and the fourth game with 10 or more rebounds this season… Batcho recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and his second career double-double with 15 points against Georgetown before having 14 points and nine rebounds against Nicholls… Batcho, who has led Tech in scoring in three games and in rebounding in eight, had scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in his career coming into Big 12 action but has not scored in double figures in a Big 12 game… He scored a career-high 21 points against Ohio State where he was 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line in Maui… His six blocks against Louisiana Tech are tied for the third most in program history with Tariq Owens owning the single-game record with eight in a win over Memphis in 2018 and Will Flemons second with seven against Texas A&M in 1990… A reserve in 33 games last season at Tech, he came into this season with a career-high 11 rebounds in the overtime win over Tennessee last season at Madison Square Garden in the 2021 Jimmy V Classic.
• Pop Isaacs has missed the past four games with injury and is listed as day-to-day… He was sidelined with an ankle injury with 15:24 remaining against WVU after landing awkwardly on a 3-point shot attempt… A starter in 19 games as a freshman, he did not play the past four games against LSU, Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma State… He leads Tech with 13.9 points per game within Big 12 games after going for 13 points with three 3-pointers at KSU but having only two against WVU on 1-for-4 shooting before exiting the game… Isaacs had scored in double figures in seven straight games and in 12 this season before having that streak end… He led Tech with 23 points at Texas after going 5-for-9 on 3-pointers before providing 14 points and five assists against Baylor… His five 3s at UT was his third game with five 3-pointers in a game while his three 3s against BU and KSU last week takes him to nine games with three or more… He's scored double figures in 6 of 7 conference games he's played in… A freshman from Las Vegas, he missed the home game against OU due to being in concussion protocol but returned to contribute 10 points, three assists and three steals at Iowa State in 32 minutes of play… Isaacs led Tech with 17 points at TCU after matching a career-high with five 3-pointers before going off for 18 points with four 3-pointers against Kansas… He has started Big 12 play by going 21-for-64 (32.8 percent) on 3-pointers… For the season, Isaacs is averaging 11.6 points, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals… He scored a career-high 24 points and five 3-pointers in the win over Nicholls… His 24 points were the most by a Red Raider in a game this season before Obanor went for his 25 against EWU… He has made at least one 3-pointer in 16 of 19 games played.
• Kerwin Walton has started the past four games after playing a reserve role throughout the season… He went off for a season-high 17 points with five 3-pointers at LSU in Baton Rouge and is coming off six points at Baylor… Walton is now 23-for-52 (44.2 percent) on 3-pointers this season after going 1-for-3 and scoring three points at Oklahoma State… At LSU, Walton was 5-for-6 on 3-pointers to match his career-high… He had scored a season-high with 12 points against Baylor at home after going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers but was 0-for-2 in Waco last Saturday… He is averaging 4.4 points through 22 games played as a Red Raider… Walton led the Tech bench with nine points and four rebounds against Northwestern State in the season-opener… Walton played the last two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Tech during the summer… He has made 104 3-pointers through 82 games in his career with the first game he had with five 3-pointers made coming against Louisville in his freshman season… Walton is 104-for-255 (40.8 percent) from beyond the arc for his career, including making a UNC freshman 3-point percentage record with 58 3-pointers where he started 20 games during his first season in Chapel Hill… Walton, a Hopkins, Minnesota native, averaged 8.2 points per game as a freshman for the Tar Heels (starter in 20 of 29 games) with a career-high 19 points coming in that game against Louisville… He experienced the Final Four last season as a member of UNC which finished as the national runner-up.
• Lamar Washington has started the last two games at Oklahoma State and Baylor, finishing with a team-high five assists at Baylor to go along with seven points and three rebounds… He had three rebounds but did not score at OSU on Wednesday… His five assists at BU matched a career-high that he also had against Nicholls – he now has 47 assists this season… Washington led the Tech bench with eight points last Monday against Iowa State after going 3-for-5 from the field and making two free throws… A steal and dunk with six minutes remaining cut the Cyclone lead to six in the 23-point comeback… He had two steals in the game which was the sixth time this season with two or more steals… Washington made his first career start against Oklahoma in a game where he contributed six points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of play… Washington established a career-high with 12 points and five assists in the non-conference win over Nicholls after going 12-for-17 from the free-throw line… A key reserve throughout his freshman season, he is currently averaging 3.3 points, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game… Washington was averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 assists in the five games leading into conference play… He matched his season-best with three steals against Houston Christian and also scored seven points… A freshman from Portland, Oregon, his career-best 12 points against Nicholls was the first time he scored in double figures and came with him going 0-for-1 from the field shooting… Washington was the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year while playing at Jefferson High School as a junior before playing at Compass Prep in Arizona last season as a senior... He produced 2,135 points, 705 rebounds and 823 assists during his high school career.
• Elijah Fisher is coming off a game at Oklahoma State where he contributed six points and three rebounds in 18:45 of play as a reserve… He had a career-high nine rebounds at LSU two weeks ago with three coming on the offensive end before contributing three rebounds and three points against Iowa State… At LSU, he would add five points and two steals in 22 minutes of play in the win in Baton Rouge… For the season, he scored a best of eight points after going 3-for-4 from the field against Jackson State before scoring five points in each of the wins over SC State and HCU… He is now averaging 3.2 points per game with a previous season-best seven points coming against Texas Southern in the second game of the season… A reserve in 20 games, he is 23-for-51 (45.1 percent) from the field this season… Before his nine rebounds at LSU, his previous career-high in rebounding was three in games against Jackson State, South Carolina State and Oklahoma… His first-year resume also includes scoring three points and having two rebounds in the loss to Ohio State… A Toronto, Ontario, Canada native, Fisher averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds during his junior season… Fisher was a consensus five-star recruit and ranked No. 15 by ESPN for the 2023 class… He reclassified to play this season and enrolled at Tech a year early.
• Fardaws Aimaq has missed the last five games and is listed as day-to-day going into Saturday's game against K-State… Aimaq is averaging 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds through three games played after going for six points and six rebounds at KSU… He now has 1,086 points, 938 rebounds and 99 blocked shots in his career… Aimaq made his Texas Tech debut at Texas where he went for 12 points and five rebounds in 28:58 of time on the court before going for 12 points and nine rebounds in his home debut last Tuesday against Baylor… A 6-foot-11 senior, he came into this season as an All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention selection and was also on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List for the top center in college basketball. … Listed as a forward from Vancouver, Aimaq had been sidelined with a foot injury he suffered before in September… He would go 5-for-12 from the field and was 1-of-3 from beyond the arc in Austin and was 5-for-8 with one 3-pointer against Baylor… His 41 double-doubles are tied for fourth nationally among active players… He earned the 2020-21 WAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore after leading the nation with 15.0 rebounds to go along with 13.9 points per game and was coming off a junior season where he went for 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game… He was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year the previous two seasons… During his career, he's averaged 10.9 rebounds through 86 games which is the third best career mark nationally.
• KJ Allen scored nine points and had five rebounds against TCU in 20 minutes of play for his top Big 12 performance… He was 4-for-5 from the field and also came away with one steal against the Horned Frogs… Allen went off for a career-high 15 points in the win over Jackson State by shooting 7-for-10 from the field before scoring six against Houston Christian… A junior from Los Angeles, Allen had a season-high seven rebounds and scored five points in the win over EWU in 18 minutes off the bench… In his second season at Tech, Allen is currently averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season… He had a previous season-high five rebounds against Creighton in the first game in Maui… Allen played in 19 games as a reserve last season for the Red Raiders with a season-high six points coming in games against Kansas State and Omaha… Allen was featured on the Netflix documentary Last Chance U while playing at East Los Angeles College where he averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and was Adams' first signee.
• Robert Jennings had six points and a rebound in the win over Iowa State on Monday night in 12:46 on the floor and is coming off two points and two rebounds at OSU in 8:04 of playing time… He made his fourth start of his career against OU in a game where he contributed eight points (matched career-high) and three rebounds in a career-best 23 minutes of play before contributing three rebounds… Jennings produced a career-high six rebounds as a reserve in the final non-conference game against SC State…He was coming off matching his career-highs with eight points and five rebounds against Houston Christian… A freshman from Desoto, he established his career-high with eight points against Louisville in Maui after he went 3-for-5 from the field and also hit two free throws in 15 minutes of work… He's currently averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
• D'Maurian Williams scored five points at LSU with one 3-pointer before contributing four points and a steal against Iowa State… Williams made a tough inside shot against Iowa State with 1:12 remaining to cut it to a 69-66 game… He made five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the non-conference win over Jackson State with all 17 coming in the second half… A junior from Arizona, Williams made his first start at Tech against Nicholls in place of Tyson who was injured… He played against Jackson State as a reserve, going 5-for-7 on 3-pointers after coming into the game with only three made 3-pointers through eight games played… Williams scored a previous season-high 10 points against Louisville after hitting two 3-pointers and going 4-for-5 at the free-throw line… He is currently averaging 3.3 points this season… Williams now has 796 points, 144 assists, 67 steals and 245 rebounds through 77 games in his career… He is in his first season at Tech after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he played the past two seasons…Williams won a national championship after high school at Putnam Science Academy (Connecticut)… He averaged in double-figures both seasons at Gardner-Webb, going for 10.8 points per game as a freshman before averaging 14.5 points per game last season as a sophomore.
• CJ Williams scored his first career points against Louisville with a pair of free throws and his first bucket with a layup against South Carolina State… A freshman guard, he has played in six games this season after making his debut in the opener against Northwestern State… He is the son of Tech assistant coach Corey Williams

RANKINGS
• Tech was at No. 21 in the nation this season before it fell out of the AP Top 25 in the 11/28 rankings after losses in Maui… The Red Raiders have remained unranked since
• Tech is now 1-8 this season against ranked opponents with losses against vs. No. 10 Creighton, at No. 18 TCU, No. 3 Kansas, at No. 14 Iowa State, at No. 10 Texas, No. 21 Baylor, at No. 13 Kansas State (rankings as of game played), at No. 11 Baylor
• Tech had moved up two spots in the AP Poll (11/21) for the second straight week and was at No. 21 entering the Maui Invitational
• The Red Raiders were No. 23 in the first release of the season (11/14) after a No. 25 preseason ranking
• Tech entered the season at No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll
• Tech has now earned a preseason ranking three times in program history
• Tech was 3-2 against Top-10 teams last year in the regular season… The Red Raiders dropped a 69-55 game to No. 5 Gonzaga last December in Phoenix before earning wins over Baylor which was at No. 1 (65-62 in Waco) and No. 7 (83-73 in Lubbock) at the time of the victories and also a 75-67 home win over Kansas when it was No. 6
• Tech has beat a top-10 opponent in eight straight seasons, a top-5 opponent in seven straight and has 27 wins over top-10 teams in program history
• Tech went 7-5 last season against Top 25 opponents, including a 57-52 overtime win over No. 13 Tennessee on December 7 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden… The Red Raiders were 1-1 against Top 25 teams in their non-conference schedule with the loss to Gonzaga following the win over the Vols
• The Red Raiders opened the 2019-20 season at No. 13 after reaching the Final Four for their highest preseason ranking and were No. 14 to begin the 2020-21 season
• Tech was unranked to begin last season before entering the polls at No. 25 following an overtime win over Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic
• It took Tech five weeks before it earned the ranking last season but remained ranked for the rest of the season
• Tech was as high as No. 9 during February and finished last season at No. 14
• Tech's highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)… The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final

DOMINATING THE PAINT
Texas Tech has outscored 16 of 24 opponents in the paint and by a 794-602 combined margin… (OSU 36 – TTU 30; BU 36 – TTU 30; TTU 34 - ISU 34; TTU 26 – LSU 24; TTU 34 – WVU 10; TTU 30 – KSU 20; BU 28 – TTU 18; TTU 28 – UT 16; ISU 36 - TTU 24; TTU 38 – OU 32; TTU 30 – KU 30; TCU 44 – TTU 22; TTU 48 – SCST 36; TTU 56 – HCU 24; TTU 42 – JSU 18; TTU 40 – EWU 18; NIC 30 – TTU 26; TTU 38 – GU 16; TTU 34-OSU 28; TTU 70-LOU 38; TTU 38-CU 30; TTU 26-LT 24; TTU 42 – TSU 30; TTU 28 – NWST 8)… The Red Raiders outscored 35 of 37 opponents inside the paint last season by a combined 1,230-654 scoring advantage.

TECH IN THE BIG 12-SEC CHALLENGE
Texas Tech improved to 7-3 all-time in the Big 12-SEC Challenge with its win over LSU on Saturday.
01/28/2023: Texas Tech 76, LSU 68; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
01/29/2022: Texas Tech 75, Mississippi State 50; Lubbock, Texas
01/30/2021: Texas Tech 76, LSU 71; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
01/25/2020: Kentucky 76, Texas Tech 74 (OT); Lubbock, Texas
01/26/2019: Texas Tech 67, Arkansas 64; Lubbock, Texas
01/27/2018: Texas Tech 70, South Carolina 63; Columbia, South Carolina
01/28/2017: Texas Tech 77, LSU 64; Lubbock, Texas
01/30/2016: Arkansas 75, Texas Tech 68 (OT); Fayetteville, Arkansas
12/03/2014: Texas Tech 46, Auburn 44; Lubbock, Texas
11/14/2013: Alabama 76, Texas Tech 64; Tuscaloosa, Alabama

LEGACY
Texas Tech spent the first and second day of October in Stanton, Texas at its annual team retreat working to continue building strong bonds for the season. The Red Raiders were at the Circle 6 Camp for two days with a theme of legacy that was designed to connect the past with the current team. Adams, shown holding up boxing gloves, talked with the current team about past players who helped build the program and also about how each of the current players owes it to themselves and the program to work hard every day to continue building the legacy that many have worked to build. The team opened up to each other through discussion and also had fun with multiple team-building activities.

RED RAIDERS IN THE NBA / G-LEAGUE
Adonis Arms: Grand Rapids Gold
Jarrett Culver: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Mac McClung: Delaware Blue Coats
Norense Odiase: Greensboro Swarm
Jahmi'us Ramsey: Oklahoma City Blue
Davion Warren: College Park Skyhawks
Bryson Williams: Ontario Clippers

TEXAS TECH FEATURE LINKS
Define Yourself – Video Series
Obanor – Feature (December 2022)
Harmon - Feature
Aimaq - Feature
Pop Isaacs - Feature
Tyson - Feature
Obanor – Feature (March 2022)
Big 12 Media Day – Four Journeys
Formative Conversation – Players
Formative Conversation - Coaches

??#CULTURE?? pic.twitter.com/uhJM4gSqKD
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 9, 2023

PREVIEW: Tech begins homestand against No. 12 K-State

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Players Mentioned

Fardaws Aimaq

KJ Allen

Daniel Batcho

Elijah Fisher

De'Vion Harmon

Pop Isaacs

Robert Jennings

Clarence Nadolny

Kevin Obanor

Jaylon Tyson

Kerwin Walton

Lamar Washington

CJ Williams

D'Maurian Williams