The Big 12 helps to kick start our Saturday with a matchup between the Texas Tech Red Raiders (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) and the #10 Iowa State Cyclones (19-5, 8-3 Big 12). Texas Tech is coming off a huge win over #6 Kansas, taking down the Jayhawks at home 79-50, easily covering the 3.5-point spread as favorites. Iowa State just won on the road, defeating Cincinnati 68-59 and winning outright as 1.5-point dogs. This is the only matchup between these teams this season, and they split two games last year with each team winning at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa and can be found on the Big 12 Network.
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Texas Tech has had several strong wins this season, they defeated four teams ranked in the AP Top 25, but none of them were bigger than their recent win over #6 Kansas. To be fair, Kansas was without their leading scorer as Kevin McCullar Jr. sat out the game with a knee injury, but Kansas still had their next three best players in Dickinson, Adams Jr. and Harris Jr. Tech controlled the game, getting out to a 29-16 lead early and never looked back. The Red Raiders were led by guard Darrion Williams with 30 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
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Tech's top five scorers all average double figures, they are led by 6'2 sophomore guard Pop Isaacs with 16.2 PPG. He is the top shooter on the team with 58 made threes on 32.2% shooting from deep. He has been uncharacteristically quiet recently, scoring only seven in each of his last two games. Joe Toussaint is a strong 6'0 guard adding 12.4 PPG and is the top playmaker on the team with 4.2 APG. Warren Washington is their top frontcourt player, he is a 7'0 225-pound center averaging 10.3 PPG and a team high 7.7 RPG. Washington is 3rd in the conference in blocks with 1.6 per game. Darrion Williams is a 6'6 sophomore guard, he just had a perfect game, going 12-12 from the field and finishing with 30 points against Kansas. Williams is averaging 10.3 PPG and 7.1 RPG.
Texas Tech is currently ranked 22nd overall according to KenPom. They rank 12th in offensive efficiency and 67th in defensive efficiency. The Red Raiders pl ay slow, they are ranked 278th in the nation in tempo. They are currently projected to be a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology.
Injury Report: Devan Cambridge (10.5 PPG) has been out of the lineup since early December with a knee injury.