Texas Tech prepares for a two-road game slate against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State with the first contest being against the Sooners this Saturday. Head coach Chris Beard, redshirt freshman Avery Benson and redshirt sophomore Deshawn Corprew spoke with the media Thursday as they prepare for Oklahoma.

Chris Beard

- In his opening statement, Beard said his team always gets better after facing the Sooners, win or lose. “They expose things about you.” He also said Oklahoma is about a two-game win streak from being back in the top 25, so the Red Raiders are expecting the Sooners’ best game this Saturday.

- Beard emphasized the importance of scoring in transition and the fast break against Oklahoma, which is a top 20 defense in field goal percentage. “You’ve got to get some extra possessions off the backboards by getting rebounds.”

- When talking about the team being able to stay mentally tough, Beard said Norense Odiase is basically a professional basketball player playing college. “I think Norense is going to do great at the next level.” Beard then emphasized there is a maturity with this year’s team. “It’s led by those four seniors.”

- Regarding Khavon Moore, Beard said he is still eligible for a redshirt. “I think it’s like a case by case situation. So, and then with Khavon just continuing to practice and sort through this. It hasn’t been easy but just try to communicate the best we can with him. He’s a talented young guy. I think he’s got a bright future.”

- When asked if Moore is frustrated, referencing a tweet he made earlier this week, Beard had this to say, “We just handled that. There’s not a person in this room that doesn’t make a mistake, there’s not a person in this room that doesn’t get emotional from time to time. So, I really like Khavon as a person. There’s always frustration with injuries, any player that has played this game – Deshawn, a lot of frustrations when he had to miss the Iowa State game, but this is the tell of a man, how you can get through times of adversity and think the guys in our program that stay the course, the guys in our program that stay committed end up being pretty good men on the back side.”

- Malik Ondigo had a high ankle sprain but Beard said he believes with all of the training he has done he is close to coming back on the practice floor, and then to games. “Malik’s putting in a lot of time in the training room. He’s in there four or five hours a day.”

- On preparing to face a team that is on a losing streak and their backs are against the wall, “It’s not easy but it’s life in the Big 12. You’re either playing someone that’s coming off a win or two and they’re really trying to separate – if you can win two or three games in a row in this league, it’s almost like Selection Show Sunday, but if you drop a couple, you’re just a couple of games away from getting back on track. I think our journey last year was a great example of that. We lost a couple of games here around Keenan’s injury, and Justin’s concussion and you guys were looking at me like the world was over and then a couple of weeks later everybody is in Dallas and Boston buying t-shirts.

- “When you play a team like you’re playing now, against Oklahoma, you just feel like you’re going to get their best shot because you know they’re competitive. There’s no quit in a Lon Kruger team, ever. This is championship DNA, these are guys that have been in the tournament, they’ve still got guys on this team that have played in the Final Four with Buddy. What we do is just tell our guys, ‘hey, do you understand you’re about to get their best shot?’.”

- Beard then gave his preference he would rather face a team that just won their best couple of games than one that has been on a losing streak.

- In the scouting report this time, Beard said he has noticed the improvement in Oklahoma’s players and mentioned Jamal Bieniemy. “He’s doing a great job. He has one of the best assists to turnover ratios in the Big 12 and he’s a freshman. He’s a much better player right now than he was last week, two weeks ago, or three or four weeks ago when we played them.” Beard also said Bieniemy is one of his favorite young players in the league.

Avery Benson

- Benson started off saying Beard tells him two things that are non-negotiable with him, “Don’t go out and make mistakes, which is just play as hard as I can and every time, if it’s just one possession, two possessions, try to win those possessions.”

- Benson said it is a dream come true to get the minutes he’s had after being on the scout team before. “Definitely gives me a chance to prove myself whenever I can.”

- With the fans showing their support every time Benson steps onto the court, he said it makes him smile. “Definitely, it’s different because normally it’s all for Jarrett or Deshawn, but it’s a good feeling.”

- Benson had to say this about his team leadership when he’s on the court, “I’m not the offensive threat but I do have responsibilities to keep everything moving smoothly.”

Deshawn Corprew

- Corprew credited Beard for putting him in position to perform well on the court. “I honestly just think I’m going out there to play my role and just doing what I have to do for us to win.”