K-State Wildcats vs. Texas Tech Raiders: Basketball lineups, time, TV and prediction
The details
When/where: 6 p.m. Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas
TV/radio: ESPNU; KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Texas Tech | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 14 | Marcus Santos-Silva | 6-7 | Sr. | 8.5 |
G | 1 | Terrence Shannon | 6-6 | So. | 13.0 |
G | 15 | Kevin McCullar | 6-6 | So. | 10.0 |
G | 0 | Mac McClung | 6-2 | Jr. | 15.0 |
G | 2 | Jamarius Burton | 6-4 | Jr. | 4.5 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 21 | Davion Bradford | 7-0 | Fr. | 6.7 |
G | 00 | Mike McGuirl | 6-2 | Sr. | 12.5 |
G | 2 | Selton Miguel | 6-4 | Fr. | 7.7 |
G | 3 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-4 | So. | 10.5 |
G | 24 | Nijel Pack | 6-0 | Fr. | 10.1 |
About No. 18 Texas Tech (8-3, 1-2 Big 12): The Red Raiders are off to a promising start and once again ranked in the top 25 under coach Chris Beard. But No. 18 Texas Tech doesn’t have many quality victories to its name. Outside of Oklahoma, the Red Raiders haven’t defeated a single team ranked in the top 100 of Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball database. It is also coming off an overtime loss against Oklahoma State. Mac McClung leads the Red Raiders with 15 points per game, but they have a balanced attack. As usual, Texas Tech is best known for its defense, which allows just 61.5 points per game.
About Kansas State (5-6, 1-2 Big 12): The Wildcats are coming off a home loss against TCU in which they fell behind by 18 points in the first half and were unable to complete a comeback in the second half. They received a lift in that game from sophomore forward Montavious Murphy, who returned from injury to play his first minutes since early December. Nijel Pack and DaJuan Gordon have stepped up in the scoring department lately and will try to keep that again on the road.
Prediction: Believe it or not, this seems like a decent matchup for K-State.
Texas Tech has several capable scorers, but no individual star that will certainly burn the Wildcats for 20-plus points. The Red Raiders also like to play slow and win low-scoring games with their defense. It’s hard to imagine Bruce Weber objecting to that type of game on Tuesday in Lubbock.
K-State has struggled all season on defense and failed to win a single game in which its opponent tops 75 points. But the Wildcats are 5-2 when they hold their opponents at or below 75 points.
Trouble is, offense won’t come as easily as usual for K-State in this game. Texas Tech is one of the nation’s best defensive teams and ranks third nationally in adjusted efficiency. Teams are only shooting 28.7% from three-point range and 42.3% from two-point range against the Red Raiders.
Fans are usually left wondering if K-State can get enough stops to win games. This time around, they may wonder if K-State can make enough shots.
Texas Tech 65, Kansas State 61.