Texas Tech Red Raiders
Big 12 (21-12, 9-7)
Seed: #10
East Region
RPI: 53
Big Wins:
1/20 Kansas (69-64), 1/24 Texas A&M (70-68), 2/13 at Texas A&M (77-75)
Bad Losses:
1/13 at Baylor (70-73), 1/27 at Missouri (58-71), 2/6 Nebraska (59-61)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2005, Sweet Sixteen loss to West Virginia
Coach:
Bob Knight (45-24 in 27 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Charlie
Burgess, Junior, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 2.5 apg, 4.1 rpg
Jarrius
Jackson, Senior, Guard, 20.2 ppg, 1.8 apg, 3.3 rpg
Alan Voskuil,
Sophomore, Guard, 3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Martin Zeno,
Junior, Guard, 16.5 ppg, 3.2 apg, 5.3 rpg
Jon Plefka,
Senior, Forward, 6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Benny
Valentine, Sophomore, Guard, 3.4 ppg, 1.2 apg
Darryl Dora,
Senior, Forward, 5.0ppg, 2.6 rpg
Decensae White,
Freshman, Forward, 4.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Michael Prince,
Sophomore, Forward, 1.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Damir Suljagic,
Sophomore, Forward, 1.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
The staple of
this Texas Tech group is the upperclassmen guards. Jarrius Jackson and
Martin Zeno are both explosive scorers. Charlie Burgess has done a decent
job running the show and getting the ball to the big scorers. However, last
year’s Junior College Player of the Year can do a little scoring himself as
well.
With the
experienced guards comes controlling the tempo of the game. The
assist-to-turnover ratio is not noteworthy for any of the guards, but the
team only commits 11.8 turnovers per contest.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
With those
guards, if the Red Raiders had better options up front, they would have won
the conference and be in the discussion to go to the Final Four. Coach Bob
Knight has started seven different players at the power forward and
center spots. Jon Plefka and Darryl Dora are the best two options, but
neither are true post players and spend too much time thinking about shots
on the perimeter. That especially hurts the rebounding and the Red Raiders
have a -4.5 rebound margin, easily the worst in the conference. Seven-footer
Esmir Rizvic is out for the season after suffering an injury in early
January. He did not help too much on the glass, but was at least a bigger
option for a team that needs a big man.
Who To
Watch:
Jackson and
Zeno are the big scorers and Texas Tech needs them to score in bunches. Zeno
and the underappreciated Jackson have only failed to reach double-digits
twice each on the season. Texas Tech lost all four of those games,
including a horrible home loss to Nebraska.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Georgetown
