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The Texas Tech Red Raiders (20-9, 8-7) v. The Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-13, 7-8)
Saturday, March 8, 2008 @ 12:30 p.m.
ESPN Plus
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Keys to the Game:
- Squash Hopes: Texas Tech has the chance to absolutely ruin the Bears' chances to play in the NCAA tournament. I know, you shouldn't play the game just to play the role of upset, but who cares at this point. Of course that means in order to beat a very focused Baylor team, the Red Raiders are going to have to be very focused themselves, and that starts with either Roberson or Burgess controlling the tempo to the game and playing well against Carter, Jerrells and Dugat.
- Zeno's Last Stand: If Texas Tech goes with this lineup of Roberson and Voskuil in the backcourt, then Zeno will have either Jerrells or Dugat guarding him. If there was ever an opportunity for Zeno to take advantage of a matchup, on Senior Day, then it's today. I know that Baylor has other athletes that can guard Zeno, but getting Zeno out of the gate early with potentially a favorable matchup is huge. Not to mention, if Cook and Suljagic start, then they could potentially draw out Rogers and the other forward, essentially giving Zeno the lane.
- Defense: This is where you make your last stand if you are Texas Tech. Baylor is very good offensively and I'm very worried that if Baylor gets on a roll, the Red Raiders won't be able to keep up with Baylor. Lock down perimeter defense and keep Baylor off the boards. I believe I said this in the last game, but Texas Tech has got to limit Baylor to one shot per possession. These are big games for Suljagic, Cook and who ever else plays in the frontcourt.
Probable Starting Lineups:
| Texas Tech | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| John Roberson | 5-11 | 165 | G | Fr. | 12.1 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Alan Voskuil | 6-3 | 175 | G | Jr. | 13.5 | 4.0 | 1.4 |
| Martin Zeno | 6-5 | 208 | G/F | Sr. | 15.9 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Damir Suljagic | 6-8 | 245 | F | Jr. | 5.2 | 4.1 | 0.7 |
| Trevor Cook | 6-8 | 225 | F | So. | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.6 |
| Baylor | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| Curtis Jerrells | 6-1 | 200 | G | Jr. | 15.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| Henry Dugat | 6-0 | 170 | G | Jr. | 12.1 | 4.1 | 1.7 |
| Tweety Carter | 5-10 | 180 | G | So. | 9.2 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| Kevin Rogers | 6-9 | 240 | F | Jr. | 12.6 | 8.5 | 0.6 |
| Mark Shepherd | 6-9 | 220 | F | Sr. | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
This is your open game day thread so feel free to sign up for a free account and leave all predictions, comments and thoughts about the game here.
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.