Tonight, the Texas Tech basketball team should finally be tested. Playing in the UKG Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York, the Red Raiders will take on Saint Josephs, in their first game this year away from United Supermarkets Arena.
It will be important for Tech to find a way to put this game in the win column for the sake of the team's tournament resume. That's because there simply aren't a ton of opportunities to pick up impressive wins in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Given Saint Joseph's NET ranking, which is 92nd, this would be a Quad-2 win for the Red Raiders. Outside of this game and Friday's contest against either Syracuse or Texas, the only other chance to pick up a big resume-boosting win prior to Big 12 play is when the Red Raiders take on Texas A&M in Fort Worth next month.
So far, Saint Joseph's is 3-1 on the season. But they have been a bit of a tough team to figure out. That's because after opening the season with a victory over Navy, they dropped a home game to Central Connecticut.
However, they then turned right around and beat Villanova (although Villanova is miles away from being a national power, as they were under former head coach Jay Wright). Now, they enter this game fresh off of a double-digit victory over Penn.
It is fair to suggest that the Red Raiders have not been tested as much as the Hawks have been thus far. Thus, it will be fascinating to see how head coach Grant McCasland's team responds to its first real test of the season.
Texas Tech vs. Saint Joseph's broadcast info
Tip: 8 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network
Streaming: Varsity App
Texas Tech vs. Saint Joseph's series history
Texas Tech all-time record: 0-1
Only meeting: 70-65 Saint Joseph's in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, New York.
Texas Tech vs. Saint Joseph's odds
All odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -10.5 | Texas Tech -610 | 147.5 |
Texas Tech vs. Saint Joseph's game notes
All game notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- Texas Tech team leads the Big 12 and is second nationally by shooting 58.0 percent from the field and is also second in the Big 12 with 20.8 assists per game after having 30 on Monday against UAPB. The 30 assists marked the eighth time in program history with 30-plus assists and the most since a 32-assist performance against Tennes- see State in 2019.
- The Red Raiders are currently averaging 93.5 points per game which ranks second in the Big 12 and 14th nationally and are limiting opponents to only 59.8. The team is currently shooting 141-for-243 (58.0 percent) from the field and is 46-for-102 (45.1 percent) on 3-pointers.
- Grant McCasland improved to 238-100 in his career with the win over UAPB and is now 27-11 overall and 19-2 at home leading the Red Raiders.
- The program hasn’t started 5-0 since the 2021-22 season where it began 6-0 before its first
loss… Tech has been 5-0 only 14 times through 99 seasons.
- Kerwin Walton is fourth nationally in active 3-point percentage at 43.2 percent after making three and finishing with nine points against UAPB. He opened this season with a career-high seven 3-pointers and led the Red Raiders with 21 points in the season-opening win over Bethune-Cookman. He’s made three or more 3-pointers in three games this season.
- Kevin Overton is currently averaging 12.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game after going for 17 points and three assists against UAPB. He has recorded three double-figure scoring performances to begin his sophomore season after also providing 19 points in a game against Northwestern State where he was 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.
- Elijah Hawkins is coming off his 11th career double-double after providing 11 assists, 10 points, and five steals in his first start as a Red Raider.