 (13-17, 5-10) |
Date | March 5, 2011 |
 (22-7, 9-6) |
PREVIEW
WHAT TO EXPECT | As emotional as it was for Texas Tech on Wednesday night, it will be equally emotional for the Aggie seniors this afternoon. The one thing I can say about Texas Tech is that they have kept it close for a handful of losses. The Red Raiders only lost by 3 in Lubbock, by 8 in Missouri, 3 hosting Colorado and 2 at Oklahoma St. Yes, that means that I'm talking about close losses, but at this point, what I really want to see is this team to compete, show some pride and play hard. That doesn't seem like a lot. Yesterday, DT's Tommy Magelssen talked with head coach Pat Knight and feels confident about going to College Station:
"People can say what they want about this team, but it’s pretty obvious to play like they did (Wednesday) and the type of season we had, and so, yeah, I think they’ll give a good run at it at A&M, and then we got the tournament to see what we can do," Knight said Wednesday.
The thing that bothers me, which is the same thing that bothered me the last time these two teams met, is that TAMU is good at playing ugly, defensive minded basketball, but they're not as bad offensively as I initially thought. They just don't have a handful of go-to scorers, but when you play defense, that's not such a bad thing.
LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that playing on senior night for an opposing team isn't easy:
“It’s really tough playing at places on senior night,” coach Pat Knight said after his team’s win. “You really run into a buzz saw most of the time because emotions are so high and guys just give it their all.”
More below the jump.
KEY MATCHUPS | The last time these two teams met, Middleton led the team in scoring, but he didn't have the overall impressive game that he's capable of having. You don't see a ton of forwards his size average almost 3 assists a game. Middleton is one of my favorite players to watch in the Big 12. Holmes also hit Texas Tech up for 14 points and Roberson only managed 10, although Roberson did have 7 assists. Brad Reese took advantage last game and scored 18 points to lead Texas Tech.
PROBABLE STARTERS
| Position | Player | Ht/Wt | Class | Pts | Rbs | Ast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | John Roberson | 5-11/168 | SR | 13.8 | 2.0 | 4.4 |
| G | David Tairu | 6-3/177 | SR | 9.7 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| G | Brad Reese | 6-6/195 | SR | 11.9 | 4.6 | 1.7 |
| F | Mike Singletary | 6-6/235 | SR | 12.8 | 5.8 | 2.4 |
| F | D`walyn Roberts | 6-7/200 | SR | 6.1 | 5.3 | 0.8 |
| Position | Player | Ht/Wt | Class | Pts | Rbs | Ast |
| G | B.J. Holmes | 5-11/175 | SR | 9.6 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| G | Dash Harris | 6-1/175 | JR | 4.3 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| F | Nathan Walkup | 6-7/210 | SR | 9.5 | 5.7 | 1.3 |
| F | Khris Middleton | 6-7/215 | SO | 14.4 | 5.2 | 2.9 |
| F | David Loubeau | 6-8/230 | JR | 11.3 | 4.9 | 0.4 |
FOUR FACTORS |
Fancy basketball glossary found here.
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