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THE INFORMATION
| Game Details | |
|---|---|
| TEAMS |
 Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-11, 4-6)  Oklahoma Sooners (18-6, 7-4) |
| WHERE | Lloyd Noble Center | Norman, Oklahoma |
| WHEN | 7:00 pm Wednesday February 12th |
| CONSUME | Radio - TTSN | TV - Big 12 Network |
THE CHARACTERS
| Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech | Oklahoma | |
| Robert Turner (6-3/180) | PG | Jordan Woodard (6-0/185) |
| Toddrick Gotcher (6-4/195) | SG | Buddy Hield (6-4/208) |
| Jaye Crockett (6-7/210) | SF | Isaiah Cousins (6-4/186) |
| Jordan Tolbert (6-7/225) | PF | Cameron Clark (6-7/211) |
| Dejan Kravic (7-0/235) | C | Ryan Spangler (6-8/232) |
THE ANALYSIS
Key Matchup | Woodward vs. Turner: There’s a bit of a focus on the point guard play and that’s a good place to start for this game. Woodward scored 15 points the last time these two teams met, while Turner didn’t really have his best game, scoring 8 and not recording an assist in 26 minutes. Turner’s handle on the offense is critical, although Randy Onwuasor’s play is improving with each game. Texas Tech needs to pull even with the guard play in Norman.
Take Aim: Texas Tech has to get a handle on Oklahoma offensively. OU’s ability to go on scoring runs the last time that these two teams met was critical and Texas Tech’s inability to get stops was also important. Oklahoma is an elite team offensively, as KenPom has them as the 11th team in AdjO, but 111th in AdjD. I think this starts with the guards for Oklahoma, as Heild made 7 of 11 from the floor and Clark made 8 of 12 the last game. For Texas Tech, they just can’t let these two guys get such good shots and make such a high percentage.
Texas Tech has a real size advantage when Kravic and Tolbert both start, as they do against most Big 12 schools, and this should be an area where Texas Tech has a distinct advantage. It's been up and down for Kravic and Tolbert, but high percentage shots and limiting Oklahoma's offensive opportunities on the boards should be a key for this game.
Game Day Links:
The official site with their official preview (via Texas Tech).
A nice look about how the point guard play has improved for this team with the play of Robert Turner and Randy Onwuasor (via LAJ). Here’s head coach Tubby Smith on Turner and Onwuasor:
"Rob gives us the strength and the maturity, the physical maturity," Smith said. "But then again, Randy is becoming a pretty strong, pretty mature player as well. I like the matchup there against Jordan Woodard. It’s going to be a tough one, but he’s a freshman who’s playing outstanding basketball to be a freshman."
Tubby Smith says that the footwork and help defense needs to be better (via DT):
"Whenever we get beat, we have to have the proper help," he said. "The footwork is so critical. We’ve been working on that in practice as well as handling the pick and roll a little bit different. Sometimes you hedge it, sometimes you turn it down, sometimes you trap it and sometimes you switch it. Trying to figure out what’s best against a particular team is always a challenge."
Action: