Ahead of the Air Raiders tipping off the TBT, head coach of the Texas Tech affiliate Jason Staudt broke down how he’s feeling ahead of his team’s opening round matchup with Purple Hearts at 8 p.m. in the United Supermarkets Arena.
Staudt and the Air Raiders have battled a quick timeline ahead of tip-off with limited practice, but he echoed confidence in his guys.
“Here we are, you know, we got a game and feel confident and playing in front of home folks,” Staudt said. “You wish you had more practice time. I mean, three, four days aren't enough but it's not like we're at a disadvantage compared to the other teams doing this.”
The Air Raiders have been practicing at the Womble Practice Facility over the weekend and throughout the week ahead of their opening round matchup of the TBT Lubbock Regional.
During those practices, the Air Raiders have been rolling without Davide Morretti, who arrived in Lubbock Tuesday night after the final practice.
“We've had three days of practice, we've only had two days with all 10 players that we've had, and we're waiting on Morretti later in the week. Staudt said. “The great thing about this group is we really are 11 deep. There are a couple guys that maybe stand out. But as we all know, the game never goes perfectly.”
Staudt and the Air Raiders are obviously a group that hasn’t spent much time together, but as is every other team in this tournament. He spoke about the challenges of playing teams with so much unknown for his team and what the other teams may throw at him during the tournament.
“If we handle our business, if we know what we're doing, you know, pick and roll wise game plan wise, we're worried about ourselves,” Staudt said. “There's a lot of unknowns going into tonight, I'm not going to lie. It's not like you're going in and like feeling like, oh yeah, I really know about the opponent.”
The Air Raiders tip-off against Purple Hearts in the opening round of the TBT at 8 p.m. tonight in the United Supermarkets Arena.
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