Lubbock, TX – The 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out a game road trip when they take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Big 12 action at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock this evening.
Bill Self's Jayhawks are 12-3 on the season and have once again opened Big 12 play on a bit of a roll, with wins over both Kansas State (67-49) and Oklahoma (72-61) thus far. Overall, Kansas is riding a five-game win streak heading into this contest.
Billy Gillespie's first season in Lubbock has been up and down thus far, as the team's 7-7 overall record indicates. Tech has yet to post a marquee win on the season and is still in search of its first conference win, opening Big 12 play with setbacks to Oklahoma State (67-59) and most recently, Baylor (73-60).
Kansas has pretty much dominated this series with wins in 20 of the previous 24 meetings. The Jayhawks have won three straight and four of the last five meetings with the Red Raiders.
Kansas can win games at either end of the floor and the team's +15.9 scoring margin is evidence of that. The Jayhawks are averaging 75.1 ppg on a healthy .480 shooting, while limiting the opposition to just 59.2 ppg on a meager .370 shooting accuracy. Thomas Robinson has emerged this year as the frontrunner for the Big 12 Player of the Year award, averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Tyshawn Taylor has the ability to find his own shot (14.7 ppg), as well as getting others involved in the offense (5.1 apg). Travis Releford (10.1 ppg) rounds out the top scoring threats on the roster. In the win over Oklahoma last time out, Releford was the key, netting a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Robinson was his usual self down low, just missing a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Taylor added nine points to the cause, while dishing out six assists.
The Red Raiders were held under 40 percent shooting against Baylor last time out, falling to the nationally-ranked Bears in Lubbock by 13 points. Javarez Willis led three players in double figures for Tech in the setback with 13 points. Jaye Crockett added 11 points, while Ty Nurse chipped in with 10. The Red Raiders trailed by only one point at intermission, but the Bears went 17- of-24 from the free-throw line over the final 20 minutes to earn the double- digit win. Texas Tech isn't the most explosive team this year in terms of scoring. The Red Raiders are efficient however, averaging a modest 66.6 ppg on a healthy .484 shooting (second in the Big 12). Jordan Tolbert leads the way offensively with 14.8 ppg. Nurse is currently the only other player averaging double digits at 10.7 ppg. Willis is eager to join the pair, ranking third on the team with 9.1 ppg. The team has been much more consistent at the defensive end, holding foes to just 65.8 ppg and under 40 percent shooting overall (.393). A real weakness this season for Tech has been its ball-handling, committing nearly 17 turnovers per contest (16.8).
