The Texas Tech basketball team will have a rare Sunday afternoon game this weekend when Oklahoma State comes to Lubbock. It will be an opportunity for the Red Raiders to run their current winning streak to four games.
It has been a rugged stretch for head coach Grant McCasland and his team. Over the last four games, Tech has faced then-No. 3 Iowa State, Kansas State on the road, Arizona, and Cincinnati (which began Big 12 play as a top-25 team) on the road. Fortunately, Tech was able to go 3-1 in that stretch.
Now, Tech will have back-to-back home games against teams that the Red Raiders will be heavily favored to beat. This is one of only two sets of consecutive home games in Big 12 play for Tech this season.
The Cowboys are just 10-8 on the season. That includes a mark of just 2-5 in conference play, good for only 12th in the league race.
In the non-conference portion of the schedule, OSU went 8-3 picking up wins over bad Miami and Seaton Hall teams along the way but falling to in-state rival Oklahoma which was No. 13 at the time. However, in Big 12 action, the only two teams the Cowboys have beaten are Kansas State and Colorado, two of the worst teams in the conference.
Where the Cowboys are the most vulnerable is on defense. They allow an average of 74.9 points per game, the second-most of any Big 12 team.
In fact, in six of their losses on the season, their opponent has scored 80 points or more. That doesn't bode well for a team about to face a Red Raider squad that is one of the most efficient offensive teams in the nation.
On the other end of the floor, Abou Ousmane, a 6-foot-10 senior from Brooklyn, New York leads OSU in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Meanwhile, 6-foot-8 senior forward Marchelus Avery averages 12.7 points per game.
Most Texas Tech fans will remember the name of Robert Jennings. After playing his first two seasons of college hoops with Texas Tech, he's now at Oklahoma State.
This year, the 6-foot-7 junior from DeSoto, Texas is putting up 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He's had four games with double digits in points and Tech fans will be watching closely to see if he will be another former Red Raider who comes back to Lubbock to have a big game.
Though this game and Wednesday's home game against TCU won't be considered marquee opportunities, they are massively important for the Red Raiders. That's because, after these two home tilts, Tech then embarks upon maybe the toughest portion of the conference schedule.
Next Saturday, the Red Raiders will travel to Houston to face the No. 7 Cougars. Then, Tech hosts Baylor before traveling to Arizona.
Therefore, the Red Raiders will want to have stacked as many wins as possible onto their resume before that difficult three-game stretch. So though this game will be played opposite of the NFL playoffs, Tech basketball fans will be tuning in to see McCasland and Co. tangle with the Cowboys. Therefore, let's take a look at all the game information that fans will need to know.
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State broadcast information
Tip: 2 p.m., Sunday, January 26, 2025
TV: ESPN+
TV CALL: Ted Emrich (play-by-play), Bryndon Manzer (analyst)
TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State series history
The Red Raiders swept the season series last year, winning by 17 points in both matchups. OSU still maintains a 50-26 all-time record in the series that dates back to 1937. In Lubbock, Tech is 17-12 over the Cowboys in the series.
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State notes
Notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- Three straight wins have Texas Tech (14-4, 5-2 Big 12) at No. 10 in the NCAA NET and at No. 10 on the Kenpom rating coming into its home game against the Cowboys (10-8, 2-5 Big 12) who are 0-3 in conference road games. The Red Raiders are also at No. 25 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll and are just outside the AP Top 25, receiving the most votes of unranked teams in this week’s poll.
- The team extended a three-game winning streak by going on the road and earning an 81-71 win at Cincinnati on Tuesday night to improve to 4-0 in conference road games – the best start to a Big 12 road schedule in program history. Tech enters the game against the Cowboys (10-8, 2-5 Big 12) with a 9-2 home record and are 1-2 in Big 12 home games after taking a 70-54 win over Arizona last Saturday following home losses to UCF and No. 3 Iowa State.
- The Cowboys lead the Big 12 by getting to the free-throw line 25.3 times per game
and making 18.4 per game while ranking second with 8.7 steals per game and third by forcing 14.9 turnovers.
- Tech is currently leading the Big 12 with a 57.0 effective field goal percentage and at 78.2 percent at the free-throw line while ranking second in the conference with a 1.63 assist-to-turnover ratio, 49.4 field goal percentage, a 7.4 rebounding margin, shooting 38.9 percent on 3-pointers and by scoring 82.9 points per game. The Red Raiders made 12 3-pointers in the win over Cincinnati and have now hit 10 or more in 10 games this season and are averaging 10.6 per game which ranks fourth in the
conference.
- Grant McCasland is now 248-104 (70.5%) in his NCAA career, including his Tech records of 37-15 overall (52 games – 71.2%), 16-9 in Big 12 games, 24-4 at home and 8-6 in true road games.
- JT Toppin has scored 20 points in two straight games after going for 20 points and seven rebounds in the win over Cincinnati and now ranks third in the Big 12 by averaging 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season.
- Christian Anderson scored in double figures for the seventh time this season after going off for 18 points and matching a career-high with four 3-pointers at Cincinnati after producing 10 points against Arizona where he was 2-for-4 on 3-pointers and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. He's now averaging 9.5 points, 2.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds overall this season while in Big 12 play he’s averaging 10.1 points and is shooting 14-for-28 (50.0 percent) from 3-point range. His 4-for-7 performance on 3s at Cincinnati gives him nine games with two or more 3s this season and his three steals in the game gives him three or more steals in four games.