The Texas Tech Red Raiders face off against the New Mexico Lobos, Monday at 11:00 a.m. ESPN's Andy Katz reports that this game may be delayed due to winter weather in Albuquerque. Lets' break down the game.
The Numbers:
| Team | K.P. Rank | Off.Eff. | Def.Eff. | Points/Game | Points Allowed | Rebounds |
| Texas Tech | 65 | 37 | 113 | 76 | 68 | 36.1 |
| New Mexico | 124 | 52 | 243 | 83 | 71 | 40.9 |
Players to Watch:
| Player | Rebounds | Assists | Points |
| J.R. Giddens | 6.2 | 2.7 | 18.2 |
| Tony Dandridge | 2.7 | 0.6 | 12.1 |
| Aaron Johnson | 8.1 | 1.6 | 7.6 |
Keys to the Game:
1. Tech has got to get back to what enabled them to win 4 in a row before the UNLV game. Zeno and Jackson are more than capable of carrying this team offensively and Prince, Dora and whoever else comes off the bench needs to concentrate on the little things - rebounding, defense, and blocking out. After Suljagic's performance against UNLV, I'd expect him to get some minutes in the frontcourt.
2. New Mexico can score, but they also rank 243rd in points allowed per 100 possessions. If Tech can really hunker down and play some defense, this game can be had. One of New Mexico's losses was against UTEP and they allowed the Miners to score 87 points.
3. Offensively, Tech was less than inspiring offensively on Thursday night and they've got to execute better. Jackson has to get involved early and it would be nice to see Burgess get some easy fast-break points. As an aside, Burgess has to let the game come to him, not force anything, just relax.
Probable Starting Lineups:
New Mexico and Texas Tech
J.R. Giddens, G, 6-5 / Martin Zeno, F, 6-5
Tony Dandridge, G-F, 6-5 / Michael Prince, F, 6-7
Daniel Faris, F, 6-9 / Exmir Rizvic, C, 7-0
Jamaal Smith, G, 5-9 / Charlie Burgess, G, 6-1
Darren Printice, G, 6-1 / Jay Jackson, G, 6-1
For those of you new to this site and those who are regulars, I think this is the format that I'll try and use for the remainder of the season for game previews. I am a big fan of consistency and I have a feeling that most folks feel the same way. Let me know what you think, comments appreciated.