Texas Tech basketball: Preview and broadcast info for Creighton game
Friday, the Texas Tech basketball team wraps up its trip to Las Vegas when it looks to get back in the win column by taking on Creighton.
After falling to Iowa 72-61 in the opener of the Las Vegas Invitational, the Texas Tech basketball team is set to face another midwestern basketball power, Creighton. The Bluejays from Omaha, Nebraska have long been one of the top mid-major programs in the nation but are now in the Big East and will be another tough opponent for the No. 12 Red Raiders.
Averaging 74.3 points per game and giving up 71, Creighton is 4-2 on the year after dropping Thursday’s game to San Diego State 83-52. Their other loss of the year was a 79-69 defeat at the hands of a Michigan team that is currently one of the hottest in the nation.
Look for the Red Raiders to have an advantage on the boards in this one. Thus far, Tech is pulling down an average of 40.8 rebounds per game, eight more than Creighton.
Also keep an eye on the 3-point line in this one because just like Tech did against Iowa, Creighton shot just 4-23 from deep Thursday night. As a team CU shoots 37.7% from behind the arc with guard Marcus Zegarowski leading the way with 18 made 3s on the year. Also his team’s leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, the 6-foot-2 sophomore is a 42.1% 3-point shooter.
Tech should also keep an eye on 6-foot-4 guard Ty-Shon Alexander who is averaging 15.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and 6-foot-5 Mitch Ballock who scores13.5 points and leads the Bluejays with 5.5 rebounds per game.
This is not a big opponent as their tallest starter against San Diego State was 6-foot-7 sophomore Christian Bishop. 6-foot-11 center Ken Jones is averaging 6.3 points per game off the bench but he had only 3 points in 17 minutes against the Aztecs.
Creighton is a guard-heavy team, especially after losing 6-foot-11 Christian Epperson to a broken right leg about a month ago. Thus, we might not see a lot of Russell Tchewa in this game after the 7-footer played only four minutes on Thursday.
But if Jahmi’us Ramsey, who left Thursday’s game with a leg injury, is not able to play, players like Kevin McCullar, Clarence Nadolny, and Terrence Shannon Jr. will have to step up their game, especially when it comes to scoring points. Additionally, sophomore guard Kyler Edwards will have to shoulder more of the playmaking and scoring duties for his team. After a decent 10-point effort against the Hawkeyes that saw him shoot 3-10 from the floor and 1-6 from deep, this veteran from last year’s Final Four run needs to be a bigger impact player for Chris Beard’s team against the BlueJays.
Next. Why Tech lost to Iowa. dark