It's going to be a battle this Saturday morning at 11 a.m. when the Oklahoma State Cowboys travel to Lubbock to take on No. 22 Texas Tech. Both teams enter the contest with a 9-3 record following non-conference play.

Texas Tech coach Chris Beard addressed the media on Thursday. Here's what the reigning AP National Coach of the Year had to say this new year.

Beard opened the session by saying he thinks his team performed well during the non-conference portion of the schedule. However, it's a still unknown where his team stands considering how tough the Big 12 slate can be and how his team will adjust to league play.

The first opponent to gauge where his team is brings a lot to the table that Beard said isn't being discussed enough.

"We have a ton of respect for this first opponent," Beard said. "Oklahoma State is really one of the best stories in college basketball that nobody's talking about. They return five starters from a team that was really, really competitive in our league last year. They're probably a top-five team right now if their point guard wouldn't have sat out a couple of games with an injury or illness. To us, this is a team we think's going to compete for the Big 12 Championship so to have them on our home floor for the first game is an opportunity."

That point guard Beard is referring to for Oklahoma State is Isaac Likekele. Beard said Likekele is one of the best point guards in the country. He has an extra respect for guys they recruited in the past, too, which Likekele is a former Texas Tech target.

Oklahoma State dropped a few games without Likekele due to injury, which is similar to how Texas Tech played whenever star freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey missed a stretch of games with a hamstring issue.

"Isaac is as good as it gets," Beard said." I think he's a future NBA player. We'll have our hands full trying to contain him and guard him. They're basically an undefeated team when Isaac plays. They lost a couple of games kinda similar to us when Ramsey was out but he's a great player. We have nothing but respect for Issac."

Besides Likekele, Beard emphasized Oklahoma State's returning starting five. He said it would be a similar feel in Lubbock if they returned the same starting five from last season - full of confidence and super high expectations. He said that's a huge asset the Cowboys have going into the Big 12 schedule.

As far as reviewing the Pokes, Beard said they watch last year's contests for every Big 12 opponent to breakdown this year's upcoming matchup. The Red Raiders will include notes from last year's games in every scouting reporting this Big 12 season. He expects a different game this year, obviously, against Oklahoma State but also expects to see some of the same things from last year.

Beard said there's no science to freshmen adjusting to conference play. Why is that? Because, in his eyes, Texas Tech no longer has a single freshman on the roster.

"In my eyes, we have no freshmen anymore," Beard said. "These guys played games in the Bahamas. they've played exhibition games against Houston and UTEP. We've played 12 games by now. At what point do you quit talking about them being freshmen? I think it's now. This is the conference season. These guys are experienced players so we need everybody on our roster to play well to have success."

Beard noted that the team put themselves in a position to control its own destiny. However, it's the same case for the other nine Big 12 members because of how good the league is.

Consistency is key for the Red Raiders over the course of a 40 minute game. That's a goal for Beard and his Red Raiders to start with against Oklahoma State and to carry throughout the conference schedule.

An 11 a.m. tipoff is a little abnormal but Beard doesn't expect the early start to affect them. He mentioned to his players they've played at noon before, practiced early at times and have experienced tournaments where games can occur at any moment. His team will be ready for that 11 a.m. start.

Starting Big 12 play at home is a good thing but Beard said he's never been a believer in "protect the home court" or "steal a game on the road."

"That's really never entered my mind," Beard said. "I think every time a game starts you have a chance to win the game. the team that plays the best that 40 minutes is going to win. We put equal importance on every one of these 18 games. Whether it's at home or on the road, our objective is to try to play well and give ourselves a chance to win."