No. 25 Texas Tech will look to continue its impressive home winning streak on Monday when Louisiana Tech comes to Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders (2-0) have won 23 consecutive games at home, most recently a 78-54 victory over Texas Southern on Thursday.
Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech’s lone returning starter and one of three players back from last year’s Sweet 16 team, led the Red Raiders with 13 points and seven rebounds. Obanor now has 90 career games in double-figure scoring and hit 900 career rebounds in the Thursday’s win.
Jaylon Tyson added a career-high 13 points in the victory while De’Vion Harmon had 12 points in a contest the Red Raiders trailed for only 42 seconds.
“It’s only the second game of the season, and we’ve got much basketball left,” Obanor said. “We didn’t do anything special. I was playing the right way. That’s the right goal. I’m not trying to do too much out of force, getting buckets. We just have to let everything happen naturally.”
Texas Tech had 11 players score for the second straight game. It jumped out to a 44-28 lead at halftime after shooting 58.6 percent from the field in the first half. Through two contests, opponents have been limited to 51.5 points per game and 31.5 percent shooting.
“We talk before the game about culture and about defending our culture,” said coach Mark Adams, who is in his second season with the Red Raiders. “You know culture is a lot of things. It’s our bench morale, how we huddle, sharing the ball, a point to a teammate that gives you the assist and then you know getting on the floor. But you know taking charge is a big part of it, being physical.”
Monday’s contest will close out a three-game homestand to open the season for Texas Tech.
The Bulldogs (1-0) have had a week off after beating Division II Mississippi College 78-61 at home on Nov. 7 in their opener. Louisiana Tech was at its best over the final 10 minutes of the first half and the first 10 of the second half, building a 24-point lead and cruising to its 15th straight victory in a home opener.
Four Bulldogs finished the game in double-figure scoring, led by Keaston Willis’ 20 points. Cobe Williams added 16 while Jordan Crawford had 15 and Isaiah Crawford, seeing his first action almost a year after suffering a season-ending injury, racked up 12 points.
Louisiana Tech forced 22 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those miscues, as the Bulldogs started the Talvin Hester coaching regime in Ruston in fine fashion. Hester spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant at Texas Tech.
“It was a tale of two halves for us,” Hester said afterward. “In the first half, we played really mature and really hard. In the second, we got a little immature. If we could repeat the first half more, I think we will be fine. During the good stretches, it was our defense that was working. That always translates to your offense being more comfortable.”
–Field Level Media
