V.
There are plenty of people who are saying that Tech needs a first round victory in order to seal their fate into the NCAA's. I am not one of those people, but I can certainly understand that Tech needs to show the selection committee that they are capable of winning the games they are supposed to win. Luckily for Tech, Colorado's 2nd leading scorer, Xavier Silas, has been suspended for this 1st round game. Not to mention, we can all be very happy that Tech nor Colorado will be wearing these. (I don't think Plefka or Dora would look flattering in either of this type of uniform). Enough silliness, lets get to an expanded look at the numbers.
| Team | Pts. | Reb. | FG% | 3P% | KP Rank | Off. Eff. | Def. Eff. |
| Texas Tech | 72.1 | 31.0 | .457 | .418 | 58 | 40 | 83 |
| Colorado | 69.1 | 37 | .417 | .313 | 165 | 185 | 159 |
Colorado Players to Watch (* Denotes Probable Starter):
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Min. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| 23 | *Richard Roby | G | 6-6 | Jr. | 205 | 32.0 | 17.3 | 5.2 | 2.2 |
| 11 | *Dominique Coleman | G | 6-3 | 185 | Sr. | 28.6 | 11.2 | 6.8 | 3.4 |
| 31 | *Jermyl Jackson-Wilson | F | 6-6 | 220 | So. | 23.2 | 7.8 | 6.2 | 1.5 |
| 5 | Jeremy Williams | F | 6-7 | 215 | Fr. | 21.2 | 7.5 | 4.5 | 0.8 |
| 55 | *Kalvin Bay | G | 6-1 | 170 | Fr. | 21.5 | 6.4 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| 32 | *Marcus King-Stockton | F | 6-9 | 230 | Jr. | 18.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 0.3 |
| 12 | Dwight Thorne | G | 6-3 | 180 | Fr. | 13.7 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
Texas Tech Players to Watch (* Denotes Probable Starter):
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Min. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| 22 | *Jarrius Jackson | G | 6-1 | 185 | Sr. | 37.9 | 20.2 | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| 3 | *Martin Zeno | G | 6-5 | 202 | Jr. | 35.5 | 16.5 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
| 42 | *Charlie Burgess | G | 6-1 | 190 | Jr. | 30.8 | 8.9 | 4.0 | 2.6 |
| 32 | *Jon Plefka | F | 6-8 | 245 | Sr. | 18.8 | 6.8 | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| 44 | Darryl Dora | F | 6-9 | 250 | Sr. | 18.2 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 1.5 |
| 13 | *Decensae White | F | 6-6 | 200 | Fr. | 13.3 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| 20 | Alan Voskuil | G | 6-3 | 170 | So. | 13.8 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| 30 | Michael Prince | F | 6-7 | 205 | So. | 12.9 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.9 |
| 41 | Damir Suljagic | F | 6-8 | 248 | So. | 9.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
Keys To The Game:
- Put a Stop to Roby: Because Silas will be sitting for this game, it would be great to see Zeno just put a complete stop to Roby. The best way to keep this game from every being close it to make sure that your star player isn't playing well. Roby is the unquestioned leader of this team and he knows that his time is limited with the Buffaloes. I'd love to see Zeno make it his temporary goal in life to shutting down Roby.
- Contain Jackson-Wilson: Although the first game wasn't necessarily close, Jackson-Wilson was unstoppable in the post in the second half. I couldn't help but be impressed with Jackson-Wilson's low post moves and I would be surprised to see him try to take advantage of Tech's less than stellar post defense. I wouldn't be surprised to see a heavy does of Suljagic throughout this game rather than Dora.
- Don't Start Dora: Dora has started the last two games and his presence has simply been ineffective. I'd prefer it if Knight went with White, he's a little more versatile defensively and isn't afraid to shoot something other than a jumpshot offensively. I'd be fine to see Dora come off the bench and contribute, but nothing more than that. With the recent play of Suljagic, who I think caught Knight's eye with his solid defensive effort against ISU and White's ability to score, Dora may have lost his usefulness.
- Continue Jackson and Zeno's Streak: Jackson and Zeno have been playing very well since the OSU game. They didn't set the basketball world on fire with that game, but that was merely a prelude to much better games against Baylor and Iowa St. After the Texas game, someone (probably Knight) sat Jackson down and told him that getting open and creating shots is up to him. Jackson was more creative offensively against Iowa State than I've seen him all year. It was a pleasure to watch him make those short pull-up jumpers.
- Find Voskuil: Alan's been quiet recently with solid performances, but I think Voskuil is due for a real breakout performance. Alan scored 10 points the last time these two teams met, and Voskuil has refined his game. I've noticed recently that Voskuil is in the game when the game is close, and I think the biggest reason is that he slows the game down and he's methodical. Voskuil does a great job of setting the offense and getting everyone where they need to be. He's really starting to find his niche here.
I think that this game will be very exciting and can't wait for the 2nd round where if Tech is fortunate enough to get passed Colorado, the Red Raiders will face Kansas State which was a good game early in the season. Prior to that game, freshman forward, Bill Walker was injured, leaving K-State in a situation where they weren't real sure who was going to lead this team. Not anymore.