Texas Tech needs a second consecutive upset on Monday night if it wants to keep its NCAA Tournament dreams alive.
Coming off a highly charged 83-80 win over No. 5 Texas, the Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-12, 7-7 Big 12) travel to No. 6 Kansas (26-3, 11-3) having won three of their past four games. And a victory tonight would be TTU’s fifth over a ranked opponent this season, which would tie Texas for most in the country.
But bad non-conference losses to Sam Houston State and Centenary, combined with a 2-9 road record, have Texas Tech's NCAA Tournament hopes in serious danger, not to mention that the Red Raiders have never won in nine trips to Lawrence, losing their past five visits by an average of 28.8 points. Plus, Kansas is 19-0 at home this season and it’s Senior Night, meaning there will be plenty of emotion (no wonder KU is a 19.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com).
That senior class has helped Kansas to three Big 12 regular season championships and an overall record of 107-23.
"It's an unheralded class," said KU coach Bill Self. "There's no McDonald's All- mericans; they're just guys that came and gave their heart and soul to this place. They're what, let's see, 107-23, which isn't the winningest class ever at KU, but it ranks right up there pretty high.”Thanks to that Texas loss, KU, coming off a rout of Kansas State, can move into sole possession of first in the Big 12. The Jayhawks hold a 16-3 advantage in the all-time series with Texas Tech, although the Red Raiders recorded a 69-64 victory last season.
Kansas should have a major edge inside Monday. The Jayhawks outrebounded Kansas State, the nation's fifth-best rebounding team, 41-34 on Saturday. Kansas averages 38.9 boards per game, third in the Big 12, while Texas Tech is 11th in the conference at 31.0 per game.
Senior Darrell Arthur leads a balanced offensive attack with 13.6 ppg, and Brandon Rush adds 12.6 ppg to the lineup. Darrell Jackson (12.2 ppg) and Mario Chalmers (12.0 ppg) have both been solid contributors as well. Rush is one of the Big 12's biggest 3-point threats at 42.0 percent and is 8-for-13 on 3s in his last two games.
The Jayhawks are generating 81.6 ppg on 50.2 percent shooting from the floor, and they are limiting foes to 61.7 ppg on 38.5 percent shooting.
Since Pat Knight took over for his dad on Feb. 4, Tech is 4-4, and TTU beat Texas despite a whopping 27 fewer field-goal attempts.
Five players scored in double figures for Tech against the Longhorns, and Alan Voskuil led the way with 18 points, while Martin Zeno had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Zeno leads the Red Raiders in scoring this season with 15.9 ppg, and Voskuil checks in with 13.5 ppg on the strength of his 53.9 percent shooting from 3-point range. He is averaging 18.5 points in his last six games.
Texas Tech is scoring 70.4 ppg while allowing 67.0 ppg to the opposition.
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