Texas Tech basketball: Numbers to know ahead of rematch with Longhorns
As we get ready to watch the Texas Tech basketball team take on the Texas Longhorns today in Lubbock, here are some important numbers to keep in mind.
Few people understand what sheer, unadulterated hate really looks like as well as those who have seen the Texas Longhorns play a game (in any sport) in Lubbock, Texas. Today, we will get another dose of that most delicious flavor of malice when the Texas Tech basketball team hosts the Horns in game No. 29 of the season.
Overall, Tech is 34-28 at home in this series. And today, the home team will be looking to extend a five-game winning streak over UT. That’s the longest streak the Red Raiders have put together over Texas since a 10-game run from 1969-74.
Interestingly, these teams come into the game as neighbors in the conference race. While Tech has been in third place for quite some time, Texas has moved into 4th place thanks to a recent 3-game winning streak, which the Horns will look to extend this afternoon.
However, the Horns will be without their best big man, Jericho Sims, who has not played since one game after Tech’s win in Austin earlier this month. A back injury he sustained against Baylor has ended his season prematurely making UT’s resurgence even more improbable.
The 6-foot-9 junior was averaging 9.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game when he went down and his absence is a blow to the UT lineup. However, he was not much of a factor at all when the Red Raiders beat the Horns 62-57 in Austin. That afternoon, he mustered a mere two points and four rebounds in 19 minutes before fouling out.
That has opened the door for more playing time for freshman center Will Baker. A former 5-star recruit, the 6-foot-11 Austin native earned cult-like status among UT fans for at least one game this month
Filling Sims’ shoes, he had 20 points in a victory over TCU in Austin to help the Horns end a four-game skid. That was four more points than he had scored all season.
Since then though, he’s come back to Earth. He’s averaged just four points and 2.5 rebounds per game in his last two contests but still, he is a player to be aware of as he’s already shown the capability of getting hot and carrying his team.
This is an important matchup for both teams. Tech needs to pick up as many quality wins as possible before Selection Sunday to try to improve its eventual NCAA Tournament seeding while Texas needs more quality wins just to have any hope of earning an at-large bid after digging a rather large hole for itself in January and the first half of February.
So let’s go inside the numbers to see if we can get a handle on this matchup. And let’s begin by looking at a Longhorn who is absolutely on fire as he heads to the Hub City.