 (12-3, 0-0) |
Date | January 11, 2011 |
 (8-8, 0-1) |
PROBABLE STARTERS
| Position | Player | Ht/Wt | Class | Pts | Rbs | Ast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | John Roberson | 5-11/168 | SR | 11.9 | 1.9 | 4.2 |
| G | David Tairu | 6-3/177 | SR | 10.5 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| G | Brad Reese | 6-6/195 | SR | 12.4 | 5.1 | 1.6 |
| F | Mike Singletary | 6-5/235 | SR | 13.7 | 5.8 | 3.0 |
| F | Robert Lewandowski | 6-10/256 | JR | 9.7 | 5.4 | 1.2 |
| Position | Player | Ht/Wt | Class | Pts | Rbs | Ast |
| G | Dogus Balbay | 6-1/175 | SR | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| G | Cory Joseph | 6-3/185 | FR | 11.1 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| F | Jordan Hamilton | 6-7/220 | SO | 19.6 | 7.1 | 2.3 |
| F | Gary Johnson | 6-6/238 | SR | 12.1 | 7.3 | 1.3 |
| F | Tristan Thompson | 6-8/225 | FR | 12.2 | 7.9 | 1.1 |
PREVIEW
PRE-GAME LINKS KAMC has some video from yesterday's Pat Knight press conference where he has a bit of a moment. Watch the video, but the long and short of it is that PK vehemently denies the thought that the coaching staff isn't putting all of their effort into this team and called out his four scoring seniors, Singletary, Roberson, Tairu and Reese, for not having a game where they all contributed. LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that these four seniors will get the start tonight and PK had a meeting with them:
Knight called his seniors together on Sunday to talk about the troubles. He said they agreed that this season hasn’t gone as well as anyone hoped; conference coaches picked Tech to finish seventh in the Big 12 this season, but the team currently sits in last place.
The ever-rotating starting lineup will feature Reese, Roberson, Singletary and Tairu tonight, a sign of Knight’s confidence in his most experienced players.
RP.com's Andy Ellis, yes, former player and current real estate broker, says that it does mean a lot to the team for the fans to continue to support the team:
Let’s make sure to keep supporting the team, even in the tough times. As a former player, I can’t emphasize enough how much the crowd means to the team.
I don't doubt that this is true, and coming from a former player, I believe every word, but I also think that this team needs to play like they care for the fans to care. And don't forget that DMN's Mike Graham has five things to know before tonight's game.
WHAT TO EXPECT | I'm going to copy and paste this bit every time that I think that an opposing team has better overall talent, like Texas, and is a better team than Texas Tech. What I think will happen is the same thing that happened with Baylor. Texas Tech is playing at home, will play the Longhorns tough for a while, will make a valiant comeback, and will eventually lose because of lack of talent. Texas is okay offensively, but is terrific defensively, ranking #7 in the ever-popular KenPom rankings. And Texas has lost 3 games, to Pitt, USC and UConn with the only blowout loss being to USC. The best wins could be against Illinois, North Carolina and Michigan St. That's not a bad resume. The interesting thing is that UT is doing all of this while starting 2 freshmen and 1 sophomore.
KEY MATCHUPS | The thing that's really tough to look at is that the three forwards for UT are all averaging 7 rebounds a game. Meanwhile, Texas Tech can't find a player that can average 7 boards a game. Although I haven't watched much UT basketball, I think the Longhorns are doing this by making sure opponents get zero second-chance points. Naturally, I worry about Texas Tech matching up against UT's frontcourt. Athletically, I don't know if Lewandowski can keep pace with UT's frontcourt, so does that mean we'll see more of Paul Cooper? Crockett can keep pace athletically, but is he mature enough to make an impact in such an important conference game. The one thing that is different is that Baylor was long and athletic, while UT isn't as long, but they're still athletic.
FOUR FACTORS | Have to watch for the rebounding disadvantage and Baylor shooting more free throws.
Fancy basketball glossary found here.