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Q: What will be the score this Saturday in the Tech vs. Arizona game?
A: Both teams are in the top 10 in scoring, Texas Tech averages 88.8 points per game and Arizona averages 85.3 ppg. They both have played mediocre to poor basketball squads to get all these points. I think Tech will come out strong and surprise Arizona with the press defense to slow down their scoring, but Arizona isn’t going to be like all the other teams Tech has played and won't weary physically as quickly. Tech is going to have a harder time getting turnovers and fast-break points against Arizona, causing Tech trouble to put up their normal amount of points on the scoreboard. I am not going to go into a breakdown of the game, but am wondering what others think the outcome of this game will be in the end. In my guess I’m going with Arizona winning with a score of 77-63. Again, I hope I’m wrong but that’s my best guess.
Q: Will Josh Gray get to his season average of 4 steals against Arizona?
A: Probably not. It was a beautiful thing to watch in the Jackson State game how easily Josh Gray was picking the opponents pockets on the court. As soon as the JSU guard would lift his head to check out what was going on with his team Gray had his quick hands swiping at the ball. He ended up with 7 steals in the JSU game and tied a Texas Tech single game record with that number. I think the Arizona guards will be more adjusted to defenders like Gray, and will be more cautious with the ball when he’s around them. I think he will have 3 steals, but not 4.
Q: Will the boxscore show over 10,000 fans as the official attendance for the Arizona game?
A: Yes. Here is the official attendance for the past four games respectively; 8550, 7053, 7952, and 7404. I know it does not look like there are nearly that many people in the stands when I watch the games. Every game this season I could guess that far less than half of the fans officially recorded are actually in the stands. The thing I am hopeful about is that the stands are full (at least the lower bowl) when playing in the national spotlight Saturday night on ESPNU. It would be nice for our fans and students representing Texas Tech to show up in big numbers for a "whiteout" in the USA. Still, no matter how many fans are actually in the stands I definitely think it will be a lot more than all the other games. The official attendance at the end of the night should read over 10,000.