WHERE: United Supermarkets Arena

WHEN: 3:00 PM, Saturday | Jan. 8th

WATCH IT ON: ESPN 2

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 6-38 all-time against Kansas. The Red Raiders have lost four straight matchups with their last win coming on February 23, 2019, in Lubbock.

Kansas has a 12-1 record this season and are ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 6 in USA Today Coaches Poll. KU was picked to finish first in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll.

Their only loss was to the Dayton Flyers, 74-73, as 16-point favorites. The Jayhawks have bounced back with eight straight wins since losing the neutral site contest at the ESPN Events Invitational.

Kansas head coach Bill Self is on his 19th season at the helm for the Jayhawks and has a 534-119 record. He replaced Roy Williams in 2003 and has won 15 Big 12 Conference Championships and made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over. Self has led Kansas to the Final Four twice and won a national championship in 2008.

Kansas went 21-9 last year and were 12-6 in Big 12 conference play. They failed to win the conference for only the third time in the Bill Self era and finished second behind Baylor. The 21 wins a season ago was the lowest total for Kansas since winning only 19 games in 1988.

The Jayhawks are an offensive basketball team and have had some struggles on the defensive end of the court. They’ve scored 71 points or more in every game this season and have the No. 8 scoring offense in the country. Kansas is No. 7 in field goal percentage, shooting 50.74 percent from the field. They’re ranked 129th in scoring defense, giving up 66.6 points per game.

For a team ranked so highly in points per game and field-goal percentage, the Jayhawks have struggled to put away some of the easier teams on their schedule. The defense has been an issue at times for a top-level team.

Kansas is ranked 4th out of 358 Division 1 schools in the KenPom college basketball ratings for adjusted efficiency margin. They’re 5th in offensive efficiency and 28th in defensive efficiency. The Jayhawks haven’t played a ranked team this season and have only one win over a team in the KenPom top 50 (Michigan State).

The senior guard declared for the 2021 NBA draft but ultimately decided to return to Kansas. Agbaji is the 17th leading scorer in college basketball this season, and he leads the Jayhawks with 20.2 points per game. Agbaji is an efficient scorer, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from behind the arc. He’s solid on the glass as well, averaging 4.5 boards per contest and is a contributor on the defensive end, averaging 1 steal per game. Agbaji was an honorable mention All-Big 12 player the last two seasons and is on pace currently to make the all-conference team for a third consecutive year.

The junior combo guard is a great all-around basketball player and does a little bit of everything on the court. Braun is the second leading scorer on the Kansas roster with 16.8 points per game and is also the team's second leading rebounder with a 6.2 boards per game average. He’s a solid distributor of the basketball and is third on the team, averaging 3.2 assists this season. Braun’s 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game give the Jayhawks a nice defensive presence on that end of the court. He’s currently shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from three-point range.

The super-senior transferred to Kansas after logging 3,623 minutes over the last four seasons at Arizona State University. Martin was a first team All-Pac 12 selection the last two seasons and led the conference with 19.1 points per game. He was named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year for 2021. Martin’s scoring numbers have been down this season, but he’s still third on the Jayhawks with 10.4 points per game. He’s shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three. Martin is second on the team in assists with 3.3 dimes per game.

Saturday’s showdown is set to be a battle between two teams with contrasting styles of play. Texas Tech is at their best when they can grind out teams on the defensive end of the court. Kansas is a top-flight offensive basketball team, who's at their best when they can play with tempo by pushing the basketball and getting good ball movement on the offensive end.

For the Red Raiders, this game comes down to availability, and who will be in uniform at tip-off. Mark Adams said on Friday that he's curious to find that out as well. Texas Tech gave a valiant effort against Iowa State, but it’s hard to imagine the Red Raiders pulling off an upset over the Jayhawks with only seven guys in uniform again. Terrence Shannon was ruled out earlier in the week, and Kevin McCullar is listed as a game-time decision with a foot injury. Every player who missed the Iowa State game, including the players in the Covid protocols, are listed as game-time decisions.

Texas Tech has to play better offensively if they have any intentions on pulling off the upset against Kansas. It could be tough sledding for the Red Raiders without Shannon, McCullar, and the possibility of having to use another seven-man rotation for the second consecutive game. Bill Self said earlier this week that the plan for the Jayhawks is to approach this game as if both players are going to be available.

“Even though they both add unbelievable value to their team respectively, I don’t think they’re going to change how the play in this particular game just because those guys are out,” Self said. “We’ll guard them the same way we would if they were there.”