Game Preview :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Oklahoma Sooners

| GAME | INFORMATION |
| OPPONENT: | Oklahoma Sooners (13-9, 4-4) |
| LOCATION: | Lloyd Noble Center : Norman, OK |
| DATE: | February 9, 2010 |
| TIME: | 7:00 p.m. CST |
| TV: | Big 12 Network : ESPN 360 |
| RADIO: | Affiliates |
| GAME CAST: | Fox Sports |
| Texas Tech | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| John Roberson | 5-11 | 165 | G | Jr. | 14.8 | 2.2 | 5.5 |
| Nick Okorie | 6-1 | 195 | G | Sr. | 9.2 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Mike Singletary | 6-6 | 217 | F | Jr. | 15.7 | 6.6 | 2.1 |
| Brad Reese | 6-6 | 189 | F | Jr. | 7.2 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Darko Cohadarevic | 6-9 | 240 | F | Sr. | 7.2 | 5.3 | 1.0 |
| Oklahoma | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| Tommy Mason-Griffin | 5-11 | 203 | G | Fr. | 13.2 | 3.0 | 4.5 |
| Willie Warren | 6-4 | 203 | G | So. | 16.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
| Cade Davis | 6-5 | 199 | G | Jr. | 9.7 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| Tony Crocker | 6-6 | 209 | G | Sr. | 11.6 | 6.3 | 1.5 |
| Tiny Gallon | 6-9 | 290 | F | FR. | 10.2 | 8.1 | 0.8 |

The Season Thus Far: It was just a couple of games ago that the Sooners were visiting Lubbock, without Willie Warren, and leaving with a 10 point loss. But the Sooners have been pretty good at home, beating Texas on Saturday, led by the impressive freshman guard Tommy Mason-Griffin (the guy can play, he's a ton of fun to watch). However, after Saturday's game, two Sooner freshmen, Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger, attempted to shoplift a couple of items and are in a bit of hot water. Fitzgerald and Pledger did contribute to the Sooners win on Saturday, but I would expect that both of these gentlemen will not be in the arena tonight.
The Main Players: As mentioned above, Mason-Griffin is a fun point guard to watch. Typically with freshmen point guards, you tend to get see players, get in above their head, but that doesn't seem to be the case with Mason-Griffin. As mentioned above, he led the team in scoring against Texas and he was really good. And he's doing all of this while Warren is still getting back into playing shape. Davis came up with a big night, scoring 20 points, but I don't think the Sooners can count on that type of production from Davis on a consistent basis.

Strong Perimeter Defense: I'm hoping like hell that PK and his team can play excellent perimeter defense for two games in a row. The Sooners made 41% of their 3-point shots against Texas, in large part behind Mason-Griffin who went 5 for 7. I'll mention Davis again, but he also made 4 of 11 3-point shots. The Red Raiders must slow the Sooners down and tighten down for 2 games in a row the perimeter defense. If the Sooners are going to force shots from deep, then Texas Tech needs to get a hand in their face and perhaps more importantly, block out and limit second chance points.
Get to the Line: If there's one thing that Texas Tech seems to have figured out it's smoothing up the offense. Over the last couple of games, it's like watching the offense of a couple of years ago as post-players (namely Darko and Singletary) are finding guards break to the basket for easy buckets. Now, if we can just convince someone other than a 6-2 or under guard to do the same type of thing (namely Theron Jenkins and Brad Reese) then I think this offense just might be on to something.
Everyone Contributes: I mentioned after Saturday's game that I loved the fact that SF Theron Jenkins didn't get into the scoring column, but he contributed 4 rebounds, a block and a couple of steals. The same could be said for SG Nick Okorie, who seemed to be the only offense early in the game against Oklahoma St. and scored 9 points for the game. Same thing about SG David Tairu and PF Darko Cohadarevic who didn't necessarily jump off of the boxscore on Saturday, but they each need to have a positive boxscore.
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Lubbock media (104.3).....
is calling this one of the more winable conference road games. The theory being a let down game after their victory over UT, and their being a little thin on the bench after the two arrests. We now have more wins, and conference wins than all of last year. I have been skeptical of recent weeks, however, it may be possible that PK has addressed some of his internal strife, and we could be poised to make a run these last 8 games. If you look at our RPI, and if we can get to 20 wins, a big boy tourney could be on the horizon.
If we don’t win this one, we can’t win them all.
"We have a running game at Tech......sometimes we throw short passes." -Mike Leach
OU is really tough at home
good luck to you guys…we thought we could go in there and push around the sooners… long story short, didn’t happen
Hey Mizz, thanks for stopping by!
we need to pick up a road win to replace the one we gave away when your Tigers were in town. Hopefully we have more success.
"We have a running game at Tech......sometimes we throw short passes." -Mike Leach
no road win is easy in the big 12
Maybe Texas or Colorado….their crowds just don’t seem as hostile as you would expect
Those arrests
That’s just a result of the ‘big dumb guy’ approach that OU (and UT) uses in receruiting. Those two guys thought having more steals was a good thing.
"I’ve established a reputation for integrity. I have maintained those high standards" - Craig James
recruiting
"I’ve established a reputation for integrity. I have maintained those high standards" - Craig James
just padding their stats...
"Well, outside of Lubbock, expectations aren't very high. But it's okay, we play in Lubbock a lot this season"
-Mike Leach
by San Antonio Red Raider on Feb 9, 2010 1:20 PM CST up reply actions
What happened to just dating a girl uglier than you....
for a few months and have her buy you stuff you couldn’t afford?
"We have a running game at Tech......sometimes we throw short passes." -Mike Leach
The ones uglier than me were usually more than I could stand
But that was back before the ‘two bagger’ was invented.
"I’ve established a reputation for integrity. I have maintained those high standards" - Craig James
Get Physical
We need to pound the ball inside, like we did at home against OSU. Be looking for the extra pass and open opportunities closer to the basket. It works well for us when we play fast paced and physical, we have the athleticism and stamina. But, if we start backing off and letting them drive the ball, also creating second chance points for them on the boards it will end up being like our trip to Stillwater. (I hope we don’t rely on our jump shooting.)
Penetrate on O
And stop the penetration on d
" I crammed 4 years of Tech into 5"- me
by oldschoolraider on Feb 9, 2010 4:20 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
office space - the Oh face
"There's going to be ups and downs but you have to enjoy the battle." Mike Leach
Made be belly laugh....
" I crammed 4 years of Tech into 5"- me
by oldschoolraider on Feb 9, 2010 4:31 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
I'll be saving a seat for KWash in this must win game.
"There's going to be ups and downs but you have to enjoy the battle." Mike Leach
Are you hoping for some game day anctics?
"We have a running game at Tech......sometimes we throw short passes." -Mike Leach
I think it's required
"I’ve established a reputation for integrity. I have maintained those high standards" - Craig James
Dicked it again.
I’m sorry guys.
" Answers -- Become Resources."
Without Questions; There are limited Resources...
The Ref Factor
OU hardly losses at home because they cheat. This year I think they are without a win on the road and without a loss at home. I remember a few years back, Tech beat them, but they stopped the short clock, for a few seconds to let their guard score the winning points on us. The Replays later clearly showed the time was out, they said sorry it was a glitch, but in the end it was their win. Their coach refused to concede the game, though it’s another matter that they had to fire him because of ‘recruiting’ violations.

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