Tonight, the Texas Tech basketball team will look to start a new winning streak after seeing its seven-game run of success come to an end Saturday night in Tucson, Arizona. Now, head coach Grant McCasland and his team will look to get back in the win column against the other new Big 12 school from the Grand Canyon State, Arizona State.
This is the start of a 4-game stretch in which the Red Raiders will play unranked teams. If there is any hope of staying in the race for the regular-season Big 12 title, Tech needs to win each of those games (vs. Arizona State, at Oklahoma State, at TCU, and vs. West Virginia).
On the other side of the equation, the Sun Devils are reeling. They have dropped their last three games to fall to just 12-11 overall and 3-9 in conference games. In fact, Arizona State enters tonight on the heels of a puzzling 13-point loss at Oklahoma State.
Making life even more difficult for ASU is the fact that standout true freshman Jayden
Quaintance is not expected to play. After turning his ankle Saturday in Stillwater, he is expected to miss an "extended" amount of time according to his head coach, Bobby Hurley.
Though he is just 17 years old, the former 5-star high school signee is averaging 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and a whopping 2.4 blocks per game. His absence in the post will be a significant obstacle for the Sun Devils to overcome.
The Sun Devils are still a dangerous underdog, though. They have five players averaging over 10 points per game. 6-foot-6 guard BJ Freeman leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. Meanwhile, 6-foot-9 forward Basheer Jihad is averaging 12.4 points per game, and guard Alston Mason is averaging 12.3.
It's on the defensive end of the floor where Arizona might be most vulnerable. Giving up 72.6 points per game, they rank 14th out of 16 teams in the conference in scoring defense.
ASU struggles on the glass as well. With a rebounding margin of -0.8 per game, they rank 13th in the Big 12. That makes them one of only four teams in the conference with a negative rebounding margin for the season.
Another area of concern for Arizona State has been turnovers. They are second to last in the Big 12 with a turnover margin of -1.6 per game.
The numbers show why Tech enters this game as a huge favorite. The ESPN.com Matchup Predictor gives the Red Raiders an 88.7% chance of prevailing and if they don't it will be a shocking result.
Still, all Big 12 opponents are capable of pulling off a stunning win in any game. That makes tonight's game one that the Red Raiders must take seriously.
So Tech fans who can't be at the arena this evening will be tuning in to see if McCasland and Co. can handle their business. Here's a look at all the information fans need to know ahead of another conference home game.
Texas Tech vs. Arizona State broadcast info
TIP: 8:00 p.m. Central
TV: CBS Sports Network
TV CALL: Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Mike O’Donnell (analyst)
RADIO: TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK
RADIO CALL: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Texas Tech vs. Arizona State series history
The matchup between Texas Tech and Arizona State will be the first as Big 12 foes and the first meeting since 2013. The Red Raiders own a 22-19 advantage in the all-time series with the two programs first meeting on January 9, 1934, with Tech coming up with a 30-22 win in Tempe. Texas Tech is 16-4 on its home court against Arizona State but has not hosted the Sun Devils since
a loss on December 22, 2012. ASU has won six straight in the series, most recently a 76-62 win back on December 21, 2013, in Tempe.
Texas Tech vs. Arizona State odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -15.5 | Arizona State +1100 | 143.5 |
Texas Tech vs. Arizona game notes
Notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- Tech, which is 12-2 at home this season and now 5-1 on the road, is off to its best 12-game conference start in program history playing in the Big 12 and is currently third in the standings behind only Houston and Arizona who are both 11-1 coming into this week.
- Texas Tech is second in the Big 12 by shooting 38.0 percent on 3-pointers and with 9.6 3-pointers per game after making 12 at Arizona which was the 14th time this season with 10 or more. The Red Raiders are also second with a 55.7 effective field goal percentage, third by scoring 80.7 points per game and also rank third at the free-throw line at 76.5 percent after going 17-for-20 in their past two games (9-for-10 at Arizona).
- Texas Tech is averaging 12,629 fans this season which is the best throughout the state of Texas, fifth best in the Big 12, and ranks 24th nationally. The Red Raiders have been supported by two sell-outs (15,098) including last week in the 73-59 win over Baylor and the home matchup against Arizona.