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The Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-11, 4-6) v. The Colorado Buffaloes (10-14, 2-8)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 @ 8:00 p.m.
TTTN
The Numbers:
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Keys to the Game:
- If Texas Tech is Going to Steal One . . .: then this is it. Colorado comes in to tonight's game a bad offensive team and a bad defensive team, which should mean that at the very least, the Red Raiders should keep Colorado from scoring. Because the Buffs run a 4 guard offense, I again hope that somewhere there's a matchup to be exploited, whether it be with Singletary or Zeno. One of them should be able to do some damage on the offensive end of the floor for Texas Tech.
- Run with the Buffaloes: At this point, it seems to me, that Roberson is much better in the open court and although some of his passes are a little off, he's still better when he can go out and run a little. This will be especially important tonight because I think we can expect a heavy dose of zone, which means that one of two things are going to have to happen: Texas Tech will have to figure out how to score on a zone defense in three days, or Roberson and the rest of the team are going to have to create some opportunities so that Texas Tech isn't so dependent on the half-court set.
- Establish the Frontcourt: I'm sure that you've got a big question mark over your head right now, but Colorado isn't a particularly talented team up front and it would be nice to see the frontcourt establish themselves, whether it be scoring or rebounding, or heaven forbid, both. I like seeing Suljagic be aggressive offensively, and I don't believe that CU has anyone on their roster that has the height that Rizvic does. It would be nice to try and force a team to match up with Texas Tech for once. I'd also love to see Roberts gets some more minutes, even if this game is close. He needs to know that he's a part of this team.
Probable Starting Lineups:
| Texas Tech | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| John Roberson | 5-11 | 165 | G | Fr. | 12.2 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| Alan Voskuil | 6-3 | 175 | G | Jr. | 12.8 | 3.9 | 1.3 |
| Martin Zeno | 6-5 | 208 | G/F | Sr. | 16.1 | 4.6 | 2.7 |
| Mike Singletary | 6-5 | 226 | F | Fr. | 8.1 | 3.4 | 1.1 |
| Damir Suljagic | 6-8 | 245 | F | Jr. | 4.8 | 3.8 | 0.7 |
| Colorado | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| Marcus Hall | 6-2 | 175 | G | Sr. | 13.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| Cory Higgins | 6-5 | 175 | G | Fr. | 8.4 | 4.1 | 2.4 |
| Dwight Thorne II | 6-3 | 180 | G | So. | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Richard Roby | 6-6 | 200 | G | Sr. | 16.5 | 6.3 | 2.1 |
| Marcus King-Stockton | 6-9 | 245 | F | Sr. | 2.4 | 3.2 | 0.6 |
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GO RAIDERS . . .
*Stats can be found Ken Pomeroy, via Basketball Prospectus: K.P. Rank = the Ken Pomeroy Rank; Offensive Efficiency = the national rank in terms of points scored per 100 possessions; Defensive Efficiency = the national rank in terms of points allowed per 100 possession. Numbers in parentheses are national rank.