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Texas Tech basketball: Numbers to know ahead of showdown with No. 1 KU

By Matthew Conner

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBUARY 1: Udoka Azubuike #35 of the Kansas Jayhawks battles for a rebound against TJ Holyfield #22 and Avery Benson #21 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse on February 1, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBUARY 1: Udoka Azubuike #35 of the Kansas Jayhawks battles for a rebound against TJ Holyfield #22 and Avery Benson #21 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse on February 1, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – FEBRUARY 01: Marcus Garrett #0 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks to shoot against Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 01, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – FEBRUARY 01: Marcus Garrett #0 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks to shoot against Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 01, 2020 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Saturday, the Texas Tech basketball team hosts No. 1 Kansas and here are some numbers to help get you ready for this regular-season finale.

In a way, it feels like it was just a month ago that the Texas Tech basketball team was unfurling the 2019 Final Four banner inside United Supermarkets Arena on opening night.  But in other ways, the last 123 days have felt like one of the longest and most winding roads we have experienced as fans of Red Raider hoops.

Now, the regular season, one that began as the most anticipated season in program history, has reached its final day and the task at hand is as difficult as the game can offer.  To end a miserable three-game losing streak and move off the dreaded bubble, all the Red Raiders have to do is take down the No. 1 team in the nation.   No problem.

Fortunately, there is a precedent already established this season for this exact circumstance.  The only other three-game losing streak Chris Beard and his team have endured this year came to an end when the Red Raiders took down No. 1 Louisville in New York City back in early December.

Prior to that, Tech had suffered a loss to Iowa in which a slow start spelled doom, a loss to Creighton where the Blue Jays shot the lights out, and a loss to DePaul that Tech should have closed out in the final minutes of regulation.  Sound familiar?

You could point to repeat occurrences of all three of those situations in the current three-game skid as well.  Against Oklahoma, the Red Raiders got off to a horrible start.  In the next game, the Longhorns couldn’t miss from the field, especially on the most critical shots of the game.  And Monday’s loss at Baylor was there for Tech to win at the end of both regulation and OT.

So hopefully, a victory over the No. 1 team in the nation is in store again today.  That’s something this Red Raider squad is in desperate need of as its NCAA Tournament outlook has lost most of its glow over the last two weeks.

All of that can change with a win against Kansas though. So let’s go inside the numbers to look at where this matchup will likely be decided.

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