Red Raiders look to hand No. 22 Nevada first loss of the season.

The 6-1 Texas Tech Red Raiders return home after being defeated by the Seton Hall Pirates to face another up and coming team, the No. 22 Nevada Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack are undefeated and are a great team that went to the NCAA tournament last year and only lost 6 games total! The Red Raiders will have their hands full tonight in Lubbock so, let’s get a better look at the Wolf Pack.

Nevada is led by Jordan Caroline, a player who is averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds per game. He is their heart and soul and is one of their best shooters shooting a 38% clip from 3-point land. They are also lead in scoring by brothers Cody and Caleb Martin. They are both great overall players with Caleb Martin leading the team with 19 points per game to go along with 5 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 50% from behind the arc and is their best shooter overall.

Cody Martin is the better overall player of the two brothers as he plays the 4 in their system most of the time. He averages 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He is good at passing out of the paint to open shooters and that is how Nevada gets their game going. Lindsey Drew is a third-year point guard that is averaging nearly 5 assists per game. He is what makes their offense go.

The Nevada offense is similar to Savannah State in the way that they shoot a ton of threes. They like to push the ball in transition and let everyone get shots up. Out of their 8 man rotation, 6 of them are shooting over 40% from 3-point range. This is one of the better shooting teams that Tech has faced this year. This team can get hot in a hurry and can easily down 80 on you without blinking an eye.

This team like to do some half-court trapping similar to what Seton Hall did. They won’t give you pressure coming to half court but they occasionally bring Caroline up once you cross half-court for a trap. Up until the last few minutes of the game against Seton Hall, the Red Raiders handled the traps wonderfully. Look for Tommy Hamilton IV and Justin Gray, in particular, to get more points and touches if Nevada decides to trap Tech tonight.

No. 22 Nevada is ranked for a reason. They have great shooters and at times all 5 guys on the floor can be a threat from behind the arc. Look for Tech’s defense to pressure the ball more this week than last week. Zach Smith will have to have a big game on both ends to help the Red Raiders achieve victory. Our two Freshmen bench players, Jarrett Culver and Zhaire Smith will have to play scoring roles tonight as well. I’m predicting a shootout in Lubbock but the Red Raider’s defense down the stretch along with a rocking arena is what will ultimately get them the victory. Prediction: Red Raiders 89 Nevada 85