Game Details
WHERE: United Supermarkets Arena
WHEN: 7:00 p.m.
WATCH IT ON: ESPN+
SERIES HISTORY: The Red Raiders are, 1-3, against Arkansas State, with the Red Wolves winning the last matchup, 79-76, on Nov. 29, 1993. ASU has a, 2-1, record in Lubbock.
CURRENT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK ODDS: Texas Tech -24.5 (OVER/UNDER): 140.5
What should we know about Arkansas State?
The Red Wolves have a, 7-2, record this season with wins over Harding, 81-55, Central Baptist College, 90-63, Southeast Missouri State, 72-60, Kansas City, 66-55, Central Arkansas, 95-82, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 84-73, and Mississippi Valley State, 82-77. Their two losses came against Illinois, 92-53, and Morehead State, 75-51.
Arkansas State was picked to finish sixth in this year's Sunbelt Preseason Coaches’ Poll after going, 11-13, and finishing 8th in the conference (4th in Sunbelt West) a season ago. The Red Wolves return all five starters from last year's team and added two impact transfer players to their roster.
Arkansas State coach Mike Balado is in his fifth season at the helm and has a record of, 57-70, and is, 28-43, in Sunbelt conference play. Balado was hired by ASU after spending 20 seasons as an assistant coach. He spent four years coaching under Rick Pitino at Louisville before being named the Red Wolves head man in 2017.
Something’s got to give:
Arkansas State is shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 9.1 percentage points higher than the 37.8 percent shooting Texas Tech has given up to opponents.
The Red Raiders are shooting 47 percent from the field, 4.5 percentage points higher than the 42.5 percent shooting the Red Wolves have allowed.
Arkansas State is averaging 74.9 points per game, 16.4 more than the 58.5-point average Texas Tech gives up to their opponents.
The Red Raiders are averaging 81.9 points per game, 11.7 more than the 70.2 point per game average the Red Wolves have allowed teams.
Texas Tech is shooting 34.6 percent from behind the arc, 7 percentage points higher than the 27.6 percent three-point shooting the Red Wolves give up.
Arkansas State is shooting 36.9 percent from three-point range, 5.8 percentage points higher than the 31.1 percent shooting Texas Tech has allowed from behind the arc.
The Red Raiders are averaging 15.5 assists per game, 0.3 less than the 15.8 dimes per game the Red Wolves are averaging. Arkansas State is 58th in college basketball and 2nd in the Sunbelt conference in assists per game.
Texas Tech has a 1.10 assist-to-turnover ratio, only .10 higher than the even 1.00 ratio from the Red Wolves. Arkansas State has 142 assists and 142 turnovers this year.
The Red Raiders are second in the nation in rebounding margin, averaging a plus-14.5 margin and grabbing 42.9 boards per game. The Red Wolves are averaging 36.9 boards per game and are plus-2.3 in rebounding margin.
Texas Tech is 17th in the NCAA with 18 forced turnovers per game. The defense is forcing 2.2 more takeaways than the 15.8 turnovers Arkansas State commits per game.
Three Red Wolves to keep an eye on:
1) Desi Sills (6-foot-2, Guard)
The junior combo guard leads Arkansas State and is fifth in the Sunbelt in scoring, averaging 16 points per game. His 1.9 steals per contest leads the Red Wolves and is third in the conference. Sills transferred to ASU after spending the last three seasons at the University of Arkansas. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while playing 20.8 minutes per contest for a Razorback team that advanced to the Elite Eight last year. Sills was the only player to compete in all 98 games over the last three seasons and logged 2,240 minutes for the Razorbacks.
2) Norchad Omier (6-foot-7, Forward)
The sophomore power forward was named Sunbelt freshman of the year and first team all-conference a season ago. He was the first freshman to be named First Team All-Sun Belt since 2015. Omier is second on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game and is a monster on the boards. He leads his team and conference in rebounds this season with a 10.1 per game average. Omier is one of four freshmen since 1993 to average over 12 points and 12 rebounds in a season. He finished second in the nation last year with 15 double-doubles and had 19 games with 10 rebounds or more.
3) Marquis Eaton (6-foot-2, Guard)
The super-senior led the Red Wolves in scoring the last two seasons but is third on the team in points this year, averaging 11.9 per game. Eaton is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game and led the Sunbelt with 124 assists a season ago. He’s another versatile combo guard that can play on or off the ball. Eaton is one of four players in program history to log at least 1,000 points, 250 assists and 250 steals and is sixth in career scoring with 1428 points for Arkansas State. He's the one player on their roster you don’t want to put on the foul line. Eaton is shooting 93.5 percent from the free throw line this season.
Analyzing the matchup:
With Texas Tech basketball coming off a huge win against Tennessee, the team now faces the challenge of putting that victory to bed, all while taking care of business at home tonight and not looking ahead to Saturday’s matchup against Gonzaga. Penciled in between the two biggest non-conference games for the Red Raiders this season is Arkansas State. The Red Wolves, much like the Vols’, feature a guard heavy rotation and the length of Texas Tech should once again become a factor on the defensive end and in the rebounding game. ASU is 315th in the country in turnovers committed, so continuing to play an aggressive brand of defense should help lead to easy buckets in transition for the Red Raiders. Easy buckets help create momentum and playing with momentum helps establish confidence. With Saturday’s big game lurking and conference play right around the corner, Texas Tech needs to find their rhythm on offense to build some momentum and play with more confidence on that end of the floor. They’ll look to make strides in tonight’s game.