Red Raiders riding momentum into next Big 12 clash with Oklahoma State
Game Details
Where: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, Texas
When: 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9
Watch it on: ESPN+
What to know: Oklahoma State
Head coach: Mike Boynton
Record: 8-6
Preseason conference selection: 10th
******************************************************************************************
Join the conversation with other Red Raiders on the Inside The Double T forum.
Subscribe today to get the most in-depth Texas Tech sports and recruiting coverage.
Follow us on X: @RedRaiderSports, @JarrettDRamirez
Like and follow us on Instagram @rrs_rivals & like us on Facebook.
******************************************************************************************
The opening act of Texas Tech and head coach Grant McCasland’s introduction to Big 12 play went about as well as anybody within the program could have hoped for. The antics and celebration against Texas were given their due time to play out, but are swiftly being put in the rear view with a date against Oklahoma State set to tip off Tuesday in West Texas. The Red Raiders will look to move to 2-0 in Big 12 play ahead of enjoying two-straight games in their home confines this week.
“Oklahoma State and coach (Mike) Boynton have done a fantastic job, I think with this young team, of improving them over the course of the year,” McCasland said in a press conference Monday afternoon. “They’ve actually had some significant injuries at bad times. I know what that feels like just trying to get your team prepared and getting them ready. They really guard the ball and get after it defensively. They played a great game against Baylor, I know they’ve beat us three times in a row. I just feel like there’s a lot of urgency with this game, knowing how well they compete and knowing them personally and being around them. They are a resilient group and even though they’re young, they continue to grow.”
The Cowboys are led by Javon Small, a dynamic junior who spent his two previous seasons at East Carolina. Small, a 6-foot-3 guard originally of South Bend, Ind., is a top-10 scorer in the Big 12, averaging 15.3 points a night on 44/42/87 shooting splits. Alongside Small, Bryce Thompson co-stars, and in the two meetings between the sides last season, Thompson put up 21 and 19 point performances against Tech. The tandem are the heartbeat of the Cowboy backcourt and will be a focal point Tuesday night.
“They’ve got great guards and they’ve got experienced guards,” McCasland said. “They lack a little experience at their forward spot, but I would just say they’re improving. And in this league, if you can keep maintaining in a positive energy toward getting better you can improve, because you have to be so great every night. I do think that they put pressure on you in the way they attack you and their guards are downhill, they can score and it feels like they have different guys stepping up pretty regularly. We’re gonna have to defend without fouling and definitely Warren (Washington)’s been a big part of our defense and his ability to protect the rim. He’s improved in moving his feet and is really a big part of our defense.”
The notion of different players being able to step up for Boynton’s squad is not far-fetched- the Cowboys have had seven different players be the team’s leading scorer on any given night. Most recently, big man Brandon Garrison led OSU in points (20), rebounds (8) and assists (2) against Baylor. The Cowboys put up a fight against the Bears, holding Baylor to 13 percent from the three-point line and eventually had the ball for the last real possession with a chance to tie in overtime. Whether that performance defensively at the arc was a fluke or not will be tested against a Tech team that has shot at least 40 percent from downtown in four of its last five games.
“I thought Baylor did a great job offensive rebounding against them, creating extra opportunities,” McCasland said, referencing Baylor’s 40-31 rebounding advantage against OSU. “(Oklahoma State) took away the three-point catch-and-shoot shots and made them play two-on-two in the middle third and Baylor made some tough layups against them also.
I think ball movement’s a big deal. How do you create advantages? And then two, we’re gonna have to make some hard shots. They are a great defensive team and like I said at the beginning, I really respect the way they guard the ball. You can tell they work hard everyday, and they have a team that’s committed to getting better defensively. It’ll be a great test for us to be able to handle their ball pressure.”
