Texas Tech basketball: OK State preview and broadcast info
Today, the Texas Tech basketball team takes on Oklahoma State at 11 am in Lubbock to begin conference play.
No. 22 Texas Tech opens Big 12 play today in Lubbock against the 9-3 Oklahoma State Cowboys looking to move to 8-0 at home on the season. And during the Chris Beard era, the U.S.A. has become a rather daunting place for opponents as Tech has lost just one home contest in each of the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 2-0 this year in true road games with wins at College of Charleston and Houston. But neither of those environments will come close to matching what will greet the boys from Stillwater today on the South Plains.
This is an all-time series that OSU has dominated with a 44-22 edge. But inside the U.S.A., the Cowboys are just 8-12.
What’s more, Tech has won three of the last four games between these programs including both last year. Meanwhile, Beard is 5-3 against OSU as a Red Raider.
At 57-5 under Beard in Lubbock, Tech has won 14-straight at home since last January’s loss to Iowa State. And OSU has won just once in its last five trips to the Hub City.
The first time these teams met last season, Tech jumped out to a 44-23 lead at halftime in Stillwater on the way to a 78-50 win. In that game, Jarrett Culver led his team with 19 points while Matt Mooney had 15 and Tariq Owens had 11.
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The difference that day came from behind the arc. Tech was able to hit 12-25 looks from deep while OSU was just 5-20.
Just two weeks later, the going wasn’t so easy for Beard’s team. In an 84-80 OT loss, Tech surrendered a program-record 17 three-pointers. That included a clutch 3 at the second-half buzzer by Lindy Waters to push the game to OT after a pair of Davide Moretti free throws had given Tech a 3-point cushion.
Moretti was the star for the Red Raiders that day. His 20 points and 12-12 from the free-throw line helped offset a poor day by Culver who shot just 7-22 from the floor.
What made that game unusual is that Tech actually got off to a nice start to lead by 10 points at the break. Normally, upset bids are born when the underdogs take an early lead because the favored team comes out of the locker room lacking intensity.
That’s what we saw in many of the Red Raiders’ recent home games against mid or low-major teams. Prior to the most recent home game against Cal State University Bakersfield, Tech had trailed at the half in each of its three previous contests inside the U.S.A.
That’s a trend that can’t continue today because Tech now faces an OSU team that believes it is an NCAA Tournament contender. Thus, putting a win in Lubbock on their season resume would be a huge boost for the team that finished the 2019 regular season 9th in the league.