SB Nation - John Roberson

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.23.09

Seth C — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:20:28 -0000

Lots to Get To: There's lots to get to this morning (including post game thoughts on the Stanford win and if I have the time, a look at the football team's newest recruit), but this will probably be my last DTN DD until this weekend or Monday. I certainly want to wish you guys and gals a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. Travel safe and you'll have to tell me about all of the great Texas Tech gifts that you received.

Things to Think About, Part I: This is to add a bit to the question of whether or Missouri's possible move to the Big Ten would affect recruiting in Texas, as a large number of players come from Texas and CT's Dave Matter asked this question of Missouri's LB Sean Weatherspoon (who is from Texas):

I posed that question — Could Missouri recruit Texas kids to play in the Big Ten? — to Tigers linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, a native of Jasper, Texas. He leaned toward doubtful for two reasons. "If you look at that conference, you think of it as being cold all the time," he said. "And you think of never really getting the chance to come down south so your parents can see you play or family members that you want to see you play."

Things to Think About, Part II: Have you ever thought that ESPN college football analyst Todd McShay has no idea what he's talking about? Well, the NFL Advisory Committee (the folks that let underclassmen know if where they will be drafted) agrees, per ProFootballTalk:

"That's the problem," the source opined. "McShay is clueless. Up until three weeks before the 2008 draft, he said that [Kentucky's] Andre Woodson would be a first-round pick. He went in the sixth and is out of the league."

Snip

"The problem I have with people like McShay saying stupid things is parents and others who 'advise' these kids think McShay knows what he is talking about," the source said. "And they believe him before they believe the Advisory Committee. Then, when the kids go a lot lower than projected they are pissed and/or depressed. . . . This stuff happens every year and we have to deal with the broken hearts because people who don't know what they are talking about put visions of grandeur into young players' heads."

Red Raiders Take Down Cardinal: LAJ's Courtney Linehan has the story from last night in Texas Tech's 100-87 win over Stanford. Head coach Pat Knight had this to say about the team at halftime:

"They weren’t happy at halftime, they know we weren’t playing well, but I told them you have to feed off that last play," Knight said. "I didn’t think we played with good energy, we played lethargic the first half, with no emotion. We didn’t play athletic. They got it going the last play when Brad made the block, and they really fed off that. It got us going the second half."

I was able to watch almost all of the second half and the team did tend to take care of business after a somewhat close first half. SF Mike Singletary agrees:

"It was good to come back here, take care of business and get the win," Singletary said, "even though it was kind of ugly."

Notebook: LAJ's Courtney Linehan's notebook has additional info about last night's game . . . G Nick Okorie injured his shoulder last night, MRI is scheduled for today . . . PG John Roberson scored his 1,000th point last night and PK had this to say about his point guard:

"The kid’s going to leave here being one of the best guards who ever played at Texas Tech," Knight said, "and we still have him another year and a half."

. . . over 13,000 fans showed up last night (good for the folks at the game) . . .

Moving to San Antonio: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the team and staff had one last practice yesterday in Lubbock and then after the holiday, the team will start working in San Antonio. We've already been down this road, but Leach talked about starting QB Taylor Potts:

"He’s played well, and at some point we need to get consistent at that position," Leach said. "He’s played real well down the stretch, so we’re going to put the reps in him and let him play the best he can. He played real good against Oklahoma, and I thought he played well against Baylor.

"I don’t think we played well as an offense against Baylor (in a 20-13 win). I thought he did. He didn’t have a lot of help."

Wideout Wave: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the coaching staff is excited about the next wave of redshirt freshmen receivers (Aaron Fisher, E.J. Celestie, Derrick Mays and Eric Ward) and captain Mike Leach is excited:

"We’ll find out,’’ Leach said this week, "but we have a young group that’s enthusiastic, that works extremely hard and works well together. I don’t see all those (returnees) holding them off. I really don’t. We’ll play the best eight, but I don’t see all the faces that played this year holding off all the young guys.’’

Williams also mentions where these guys are lining up offensively:

Since they came aboard in the summer, split end Eric Ward, flanker Derrick Mays, "Y’’ inside receiver Aaron Fisher and "H’’ inside receiver Ernest Celestie have built coaches’ anticipation.

And wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley likes what he sees:

"Mays and Fisher both can really run,’’ inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley said this week. "They run better than anybody we’re playing with right now. Fisher does it as a big body. Mays is the fastest person on this team.

"Ward is the most physical receiver right now in the program, more than anybody we’re playing with. As much as we emphasize blocking in playing at (split end) … that’s going to give him a chance.

"Celestie’s probably the most steady of all of them. He shows up every day and does what he needs to do. Guys like that have always had success here, especially at that position.’’

You'll want to go read the whole thing.

Finishing Strong: SAEN's Jerry Briggs writes that the Red Raiders are wanting to finish strong and CB Jamar Wall thinks the team is focused:

"I personally think we have worked harder for bowl preparation than we have in any of my four years here," Tech senior cornerback Jamar Wall said.

Snip

"We usually take it kind of easy," Wall said. "But, I mean, seeing that we took it kind of easy last year and weren't successful, the (coaches) kind of changed things up."

Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has a notebook of information . . . offensive line coach Matt Moore will be keeping the same starting lineup, although LT Terry McDaniel is close to returning and will be a backup against Michigan St. . . . Moore also talks about how he wants Mickey Okafor and Deveric Gallington to win the right guard spot next year and more on Joel Gray's move to center. . . seven players graduated in December: CB Brent Nickerson, CB Nathan Stone, LT Chris Olson (graduated early), RG Brandon Carter, C Shawn Byrnes, DT Victor Hunter and S LaShawn Vation, congrats to all seven gentlemen!

Miscellaneous Links: The Rivalry Esq.'s Graham Filler with Air Raid basics . . . FWST's Jimmy Burch with post season awards . . .

Game Preview :: Stanford Cardinal vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Seth C — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:00:36 -0000

INFORMATION:	Detail
OPPONENT:	Stanford Cardinal (5-5, 0-0)
LOCATION:	United Spirit Arena : Lubbock, Texas
DATE:	December 22, 2009
TIME:	7:00 p.m. CST
TV:	None
RADIO:	Affiliates
GAME CAST:	Fox Sports

Stanford: The Cardinal are struggling both offensively and defensively and aren't particularly effective on offense or defense. Stanford is ranked 314th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and if there was ever a time for the D`Walyn Roberts and the Red Raiders to crash the boards tonight's game may be it.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders continue to perform reasonably well on offense and defense. Perhaps this is an indication of the defense continuing to make improvements, the Red Raiders are 28th in the nation in defensive turnover percentage, 24.8%, which is really good. Essentially, the Red Raiders are forcing a turnover on almost 25% of their opponents' possessions, which is really good.

Stanford: G/F Landry Fields (6-7/210) is the stud player for the Cardinal. Fields is averaging 23 points a game, 8.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.3 steals. Fields is the guy for the Cardinal and fellow G Jeremy Green is averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. The Cardinal start two 6-9 players, Andrew Zimmermann and Jack Trotter and I'll be interested to see how Roberts and Cohadarevic match up with these taller players and if Pat Knight plays his bigger lineup, which includes Lewandowski.

Texas Tech: I don't know if I'm giving G David Tairu enough credit for how he's played and shot for most of the year. Just to clarify, Tairu is shooting 59.5% from the field and an eFG% of 66.8%, which is just off the charts for a guard. Perhaps the most frustrating on Tairu's end is his minutes as he's averaging 22 minutes a game, but it seems as if he could steal minutes away from PG John Roberson, but PK seems to play Roberson heavy minutes early in the season which may hinder Roberson's play late in the year.

Stanford: The Cardinal have struggled on the road and on neutral courts thus far this season, losing both of their away games (San Diego 64-77 and Northwestern 62-70). The Cardinal also lost at home to Oral Roberts, on a neutral floor to Kentucky, and at home to Oklahoma St. Stanford has quite a few close games, but away from the comforts of home, the Cardinal are struggling.

Texas Tech: I have no doubt that both SF Mike Singletary and Pat Knight understand the turnover situation. At some point his offensive play will not out-weigh his need to be on the court if he is a defensive liability and turns the ball over at his current 26.4%. I love what Singletary brings to the table on a lot of fronts, but this is certainly a situation to watch

Post Game Thoughts :: Texas Tech Red Raiders 83, Wichita St. Shockers 85

Seth C — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:15:43 -0000

SB Nation Box Score

The Result :: Disappointing, But Lots of Fight: I didn't get to watch the game (I think you could only watch if you lived in Kansas) but losses are going to happen, but the difference between last year's version and this year's version is being competitive each and every game. Nothing would make me happier than to see a win each and every game, but that's not likely to happen with this team. Through the first nine games last year, this team had already lost to Sam Houston St., Butler and Centenary. Granted, there's a lot to play for with Stanford and New Mexico being the next two games, but the lack of a bad loss (and I would not include a loss to Wichita St. at their place as a bad loss) thus far this year is at the very least encouraging.

Follow me after the jump for storylines, stats and some video highlights of the game.

The Storylines ::

Singletary = Turnover Machine: The one stat-line that jumped out at me was SF Mike Singletary's 9 turnovers in 37 minutes of play. To get to the nitty gritty, Singletary had a turnover rate of 56% which I think means that of every possession by Singletary, he's turning the ball over 56% of the time against Wichita St. To put it nicely, Singletary was a complete liability last night and the fact that he got 37 minutes while players like Brad Reese and Theron Jenkins each received less than 12 each. It would be one thing if Singletary was scoring at a high rate, but he only had 7 field goals for the entire game. I know that Singletary can be this team's best low-post scorer, but he can also be this team's biggest liability. As of this morning, Singletary has 25% of this team's total turnovers. At some point, PK will have to make a decision about Singletary being so careless with possessions.

The Difference: Looking at the team statistics for the game, it seems like this game should have been a win. Texas Tech out-shot WSU (47.5% to 42.6) were close on rebounds (35 to 40) and were overall close on turnovers (17 to 16). The difference in the game was the free throws, where Wichita St. got to the line 34 times and made 28 free throws (that's 82.4%). The Red Raiders on the other hand only got to the line 25 times and only made 18, good for 72.0%. Perhaps this is a situation where a key player doesn't the turn the ball over as much and the team makes one or two free throws and you're talking about a different game, perhaps even a win. Free throws and turnovers make just about every coach, player and fan go crazy.

Where's the Bench: One of the big reasons why the Red Raiders were able to upset Washington was because of the play of the bench, in particular Brad Reese, David Tairu and Theron Jenkins making impacts and receiving significant minutes. Tairu did make an impact, scoring 11 points on 5 of 8 from the floor, but it seems as if PK is relying less and less on his bench as this team gets closer to conference play. I understand PK wanting to rely on the guys that have been around the program like Roberts and Singletary, but Reese and Jenkins are significant upgrades in talent and athleticism and on Saturday night they only got 11 and 12 minutes during the game, scored a total of 5 points and had no rebounds. I think this is going to need to be a two-way street, but Reese and Jenkins must be better at the small things, like rebounding, playing good defense and not falling in love with the 3-point shot. On the other side of the street, PK must learn to trust his players and there's no reason why Singletary can have 9 turnovers in a game and still be rewarded with 37 minutes.

We're Still Okay: Despite my complaining in the previous three paragraph, I'm still pretty happy with this team. Sure there are things to fix, but that's true with just about any team. The Oklahoma St. Cowboys have lost by 20 to Tulsa; the Missouri Tigers have lost to Richmond, Vanderbilt and Oral Roberts; the Iowa St. Cyclones have lost to Northwestern, Northern Iowa and California; and the Oklahoma Sooners have lost to Virginia Commonwealth, San Diego and Houston. Those are just some examples of some of our Big 12 brethren. Obviously, teams like Texas and Kansas are the head of the class and teams like the Kansas St. Wildcats, Texas A&M Aggies and Baylor Bears are playing about as well as Texas Tech. Right now, the Red Raiders are still in the top quarter or third of the Big 12 and this isn't an exercise to make anyone feel better, but the truth of the matter is that this team is still playing good basketball, but must keep up the good work this week.

Four Factors, Player Impact and Game Flow: I love these graphs from StatSheet and I hope you do too:

College Basketball

NCAA Basketball

College Basketball

I didn't get to see the game, so this is just based on observations from the box score.

The Offensive MVP :: PG John Roberson and SG Nick Okorie: John Roberson led the team in scoring (24 points, but he had to take 16 shots to get there). He also had 5 assists and 5 turnovers. As goes Roberson, so goes the team. Also nice to see Okorie finally get on track a bit as he had 16 points and 4 rebounds in 25 minutes on 13 shots.

The Defensive MVP :: G David Tairu: Tairu has been especially solid this year and he's also shooting lights out, 59.5%, despite playing a guard position. Seems like he should get more shots. For the game, Tairu only had 11 points, but he also had 9 rebounds, which included 7 offensive rebounds, 2 assists and no turnovers.

Game Preview :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Wichita St. Shockers

Seth C — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:00:27 -0000

INFORMATION:	Detail
OPPONENT:	Wichita State Shockers (9-1, 0-0)
LOCATION:	Charles Koch Arena : Wichita, Kansas
DATE:	December 19, 2009
TIME:	7:00 p.m. CST
TV:	None
RADIO:	Affiliates
GAME CAST:	Fox Sports

Wichita State: The Shockers haven't really played anyone other that Pitt, where they lost on a neutral court, 55-68, and creamed Iowa, 74-57. That's not a knock (Texas Tech has only played Washington and Oregon St.) so it's hard to determine what exactly the Shockers actually are. What we do know is that the Shockers have been fantastic defensively, ranking 37th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and have held opponents to 43.8% eFG% (anything below 50% is pretty good). That's really good. One other note, the Shockers and Red Raiders have both played TCU. WSU handled the Frogs 80-68, a 12 point win at home, and the Red Raiders beat the Frogs by 10, 80-70, on the road.

Texas Tech: The focus of the team has been an improved defense and that's certainly been true for the best part of the year. And despite the improved defense, the Red Raiders are also playing at a decent level offensively, shooting 51% eFG%. Leading the way are Texas Tech's most important players as John Roberson (51.7%), Mike Singletary (48.3%) and D`Walyn Roberts (61.2%) are all shooting at fairly high rates.

Wichita State: Much like Texas Tech, the Shockers are a fairly balanced team, but sophomore G Toure` Murry (6-4/194) is averaging 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals a game. Murry is doing a ton for the Shockers this year, but junior F/C J.T. Durley (6-7/240) is second on the team in scoring and averages 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Just keep in mind that the Shockers have seven players who average at least 7 points a game this year. Just think balance.

Texas Tech: PG John Roberson has been on a bit of a roll the last two games where he's averaged 23 points on 61.9% shooting. Roberson's shooting percentage overall, 44%, isn't outstanding, but it is an improvement on past years where his shots have seemed questionable and typically not in the flow of the offense. Seems like the Washington game (doesn't that seem like ages ago?) and the TCU game, Roberson took what the defense was giving him. That's a good sign for Roberson and the entire offense.

Wichita State: Pretty tough to find much fault with either team here, but in WSU's only loss of the year, against Pitt, the Shockers were out-shot at the free throw line 30-18. Other than the free throws and the fact that Pitt shot slightly better from the field, I think it may have been the fact that Pitt simply wore down the Shockers.

Texas Tech: In these early games against non-conference opponents that may not have quality big men, PK has reduced the minutes given to Darko Cohadarevic and Robert Lewandowski (only about 8 minutes a game, compared with 2008 where Lew had almost 16 minutes a game). I know that PK is playing the guys that he thinks can and will get the "W" but I also tend to think that PK has to be somewhat careful not to eliminate the big guys prior to Big 12 play. The conference has quality post players and Darko and Lew need to be ready to play.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.15.09

Seth C — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:38:59 -0000

Red Raiders #16: For the first time in a long time, the Red Raiders are #16 in the Associated Press top 25 and #20 in the Coaches Poll. I'm happy for this group, but basketball rankings are funky early in the season and I tend to look rankings as a snap-shot of where teams are rather than where teams will eventually finish. I don't think that by the end of the year, the Red Raiders will be the 16th team in the nation, but right now, I think the publicity is great.

LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that Pat Knight is happy his team came through against TCU:

"Our whole goal is we want to see how long we can stay in the Top 25," Knight said. "Playing TCU on Tuesday after getting ranked on Monday, I was worried we were only going to be ranked one day. The kids came through."

And PK understands that the more teams that are ranked the better the chance of being picked in the field of 65:

"We’re always worried on Selection Sunday that the Big 12 is going to get four or five in, when we should get six in and this year maybe seven," he said. "It just helps us from a tournament standpoint the more we have in the Top 25, especially in the preseason, because then when you win in your own conference those games mean even more in an RPI sense. Probably the only time we all root for each other is in the preseason."

Get to Know Roberson: ESPN's Andy Katz is showing the Red Raiders a lot of love recently and writes today that PG John Roberson is a player the nation should get to know:

• John Roberson, Jr., G, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders had a huge win at TCU to go to 9-0 under Pat Knight, and a lot of the credit has to go to Roberson. He scored 25 points last week in the win over Washington and then followed it up with 21 points and 10 assists and just four turnovers (and two steals) in the win over the Horned Frogs.

Looking Ahead to the Shockers: Kansas.com's Paul Sullentrop writes that Texas Tech is a big test awaiting the Wichita St. Shockers:

Tech's visit is a rare convergence of a nationally ranked non-conference opponent visiting Wichita when a Shocker team is playing well. No. 21 Mississippi is the last ranked non-conference team to play at WSU, during the 1997-98 season. Since 2005-06, WSU has played six ranked non-conference opponents, all on the road or at neutral sites.

Texas Tech defeated WSU 72-69 last season in Lubbock. The Shockers tied the game in the final minute after trailing by 17 at halftime.

"It's been in the back of our heads since last year, because we felt we could have won that game," WSU junior J.T. Durley said. "We took a lot of games this year, in the non-conference, personal."

Big 12 Links: FWST's Mike Jones writes that the Big 12 teams are making early statements . . . Big 12 Hoops with the Big 12 All Decade Team . . .

Pulse of the Team :: Week 4

Seth C — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:00:32 -0000

The "Pulse of the Team" is a weekly or whenever-I-get-to-it post about the state of the team, what's going well and what isn't. The Pulse of the Team looks at the week that was, the week ahead, what's trending up, what's trending down and the current player impact, courtesy of StatSheet.

Last Week:

Thursday, December 3, 2009 : Washington Huskies: W : 99-92 : Box Score

This Week:

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 : TCU Horned Frogs : W : 80-70 : Box Score

Simply Winning: It's been a pretty exciting two weeks, despite only two games. There won't be another game until December 19th, against the Wichita St. Schockers, but for now, I would imagine that most Red Raider fans are pleased with the start. Sure, there have been bumps in the road, including a very close win against SFA, but this team has been resiliant and shown a little bit of fire. I think it's always interesting to watch how certain teams react in different situations, and we have two good examples in these two games. Against Washington, the Red Raiders had a good lead, let up on the gas, apparently won the game, but was overturned, and then turned on the gas in overtime. Against TCU, the team was down by 14, but persevered. I didn't get to watch the game, but the idea that the defense wasn't good in the first half, but picked up dramatically in the second half perhaps has at least two implications. First, perhaps Pat Knight adjusted his defense and second, perhaps the team picked up their intensity. Those are good qualities to have, and I couldn't be happier with how this team has played.

Roberts Steps Up: For those of you who have followed DTN for quite some time, I've always thought that PF D`Walyn Roberts was a Kevin Durant type of athlete. Let me explain, obviously, he doesn't have the scoring prowess, but I've always envisioned Roberts as a long athlete that can play the perimeter defensively, get steals, be a rebounding machine and generally be a true pest on the defensive side of the ball. Well, he's slowly turning into something a little different. I have no idea if Roberts' frame will be able to hold up to a big 12 season, but the game has changed and his toughest matchups this year will be against ISU Craig Brakens, UT's Damion James and KU in general (they've got more guys). Other than those teams, I think and hope that this recent trend is Roberts finally rounding into a solid, if not really good contributor for this team (again, not much time this morning, but the improvement and current tremendous streak of John Roberson deserves mention).

Still Room for Improvement: KenPom has Texas Tech ranked as the 40th best defensive team (adjusted defensive efficiency) and as far as I'm concerned, there's still room for improvement and I hope like hell the team feels the same way. Against Washington, the defense allowed the Huskies to shoot an eFG% of 53.1% (anything north of 50% isn't good) and Texas Tech probably won that game based on the tremendous offensive rebounding. The team was better against TCU, 46.6%, and I hope and think that this is partly because TCU is a feast or famine team (i.e., lots of three pointers), that the team played better defense, and Washington is a really good offensive team. The Red Raiders will face tough competition after the Christmas break with @ Wichita St., Stanford and @ New Mexico. I want this team to continue to be hungry and improve on their already impressive start.

Not much time to comment this morning, but lots of good stats, courtesy of StatSheet:

NCAA Basketball Stats

Post Game Thoughts :: Texas Tech 80, TCU 70

Seth C — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:37:03 -0000

More photos » by Tom Pennington - AP

15 days ago: Texas Tech guard David Tairu (13) celebrates with forward D'walyn Roberts (5) during the the final seconds of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Tech beat TCU 80-70. (AP Photo/Tom Pennington)

Browse more photos »

SBN Box Score ::
FoxSports Box Score

The Result :: Workman Like: Maybe this is the sign of a pretty good team. Texas Tech was down by 14 at one point down by 5 at the start of the second half. The Red Raiders ended up holding TCU to 29 points in the second half, while scoring 44. I wish I could find some splits between the first and second halves, but I'd be willing to bet that TCU probably shot lights out in the fist, and the second half was all about the Texas Tech defense.

Follow me after the jump for storylines, stats and some video highlights of the game.

The Storylines ::

Roberts = Rebounding Machine: It was simply unbelievable to see PF D`Walyn Roberts with 19 rebounds. Simply an amazing total, but even better was that of those 19 boards, 9 were offensive. Roberts had a spectacular dunk (see the video highlights below), but it's nice to see Roberts get recognized for his workman like effort for this team.

Solid Bench: Remember when we were all wondering whether or not the JUCO's would make an impact. Well, I cannot say that we should all be sold, but the 3 JUCO's, SF Theron Jenkins, SG David Tairu and SF Brad Reese, combined for 27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. That was your bench for last night (I'm curious as to why Nick Okorie only got 4 minutes last night. Anyone?) and outscored TCU's bench by 7. The additional depth that Pat Knight has on board is really something, and the 3 JUCO's are more than capable of making significant contributions this year.

Leaders Lead: PG John Roberson's good shooting continued last night, and led the team in scoring with 21 points on 7-11 from the field. Not only that, and I'm starting to think he turned the corner, is that Roberson had 10 assists and only 4 turnovers for the night. SF Mike Singletary also finished with 17 points, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Singletary also had a good shooting night, 7-13, and only 2 turnovers while playing 34 minutes. These two are the leaders of the team, along with Roberts and it's nice to see these juniors lead this team moving forward.

Player Impact, Game Flow and Four Factors: I love these graphs from StatSheet and I hope you do too:

NCAA Basketball Stats

The Offensive MVP :: PG John Roberson: This has to be Roberson for the second time in a row. Again, 21 points, 10 assists and only 4 turnovers, while playing 40 minutes. There's something to this team shooting 52.5% for the game and Roberson having 10 assists and shooting well to boot.

The Defensive MVP :: PF D`Walyn Roberts: Another repeat MVP, Roberts work on the board was maybe the difference in the game as Texas Tech out-rebounded TCU by 15 (45 to 30).

Game Highlights:

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.08.09

Seth C — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:09:30 -0000

Game Tonight:
#23 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. TCU Horned Frogs
Television: The Mountain
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum :: Ft. Worth, TX
Preview: 10:00 a.m. post :: Game Day Thread: 5:00 p.m. post

You're probably thinking that tonight's game doesn't mean much and I'll probably write this way too much this season, but it's different on the road. It's going to be a battle, despite the fact that on paper, TCU may not be the most talented team. It's different on the road and should be a good game.

Targets on Back: DT's Mike Graham writes that the Red Raiders are now the team with the target on their back as they travel to Ft. Worth tonight. Head coach Pat Knight thinks it's all about mentally preparing themselves:

"It’s a mental approach," Knight said. "Look at all the pro teams, college teams in any sport that have a big game. I’ve talked with my dad about this, and you can’t let them get caught up in all the publicity."

PG John Roberson knows that Texas Tech's #23 ranking doesn't matter if the winning doesn't continue:

"One of the bulletin boards in our locker room says ‘If it’s on the schedule, you might as well win it,’" he said. "There’s not going to be any letdown. I’m not going to let that happen. I mean, if we lose against TCU, none of this means anything."

Big 12 Links: DT's Steve Walinik with his Big 12 power poll (he has Texas Tech at #4 in the conference) . . . SportingNews Mike DeCourcy ranks the Big 12 (Texas Tech #2?) . . .

Potts to Start: FWST's Dwain Price writes that head captain Mike Leach said that QB Taylor Potts will start against Michigan St.:

"I'm going to start Potts (against Michigan State),'' Leach said. "He's steady and I need to settle on one (quarterback) and quit pulling them in and out, and then in the spring they'll battle it out.''

I think this is the right move, let Potts finish the year, allow QB Steven Sheffield to heal completely, and let them all fight it out in the spring. It may not be the most popular decision, but we also have no idea as to Sheffield's status (although he's dressed for every game, and played in the Oklahoma St. game) and how well or how much he's healed. I've got no problem with Leach allowing Potts to finish what he's started.

2008 Heisman = Injustice: FWST's Dwain Price also has the story that Leach is not short on opinions as he also noted that the 2008 Heisman was "a total injustice":

"There's no question Graham and Crabtree should have been invited to New York (last year),'' Leach said, ironically from New York, where he'll be attending Tuesday's College Football Hall of Fame ceremonies. "It was a total injustice they didn't bring them, there's no question, but they do what they do.

"The Heisman is solely a popularity contest. It is what it is. If folks have momentum at the end (of the season) and the rest, and then have plenty of popularity, they're going to be invited (to New York) and whoever is the most popular is going to win it.''

Since the Heisman folks are going to do their thing, BCS style, here's just a minor suggestion from Leach.

"What they should have done a long time ago, they ought to just move the Heisman Trophy (ceremonies) until after the national championship game,'' Leach said. "Whoever's the MVP in the national championship game they ought to just give him the Heisman.

"That's what they're trying to do anyway, except their dates don't line up.''

9,000 of 11,000 Allotted Tickets = Gone: LAJ's Don Williams writes that 9,000 of Texas Tech's allotted 11,000 tickets are gone:

"Anything north of 65 (thousand) means we had to put in standing room only (seats),’’ Hill said Monday. "That’s my favorite, when we have to buy barstools and bake cookies for the fire marshal.’’

Tech seems to be doing its part. From an initial allotment of 11,016 tickets, Tech pre-sold 6,000 before the bowl destination was known and then another 3,000 late Sunday and Monday, according to Dave Welsh, the Tech assistant athletic director for ticket operations. Welsh said Tech’s allotment of lower-level and club seats are sold out, leaving, at the moment, only $55 upper-level sideline tickets.

"Right now, the buzz is tremendous,’’ Hill said late Monday afternoon. "The Red Raider fans have not disappointed in the first 24 hours after the team announcement.’’

McNeill Talks Defense: The DT has defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill talking defense:

Michigan St. Spartan and Big 12 Links: The Only Colors has a quick statistical comparison between the Spartans and the Red Raiders . . . RA's ayleein with some thoughts on Texas Tech going to the Alamo Bowl . . thank goodness the DMN has Staff and Wire Reports working hard on covering this game rather than an actual reporter (I know, it's not the writers fault, but it is) . . . BOTC's TB writes that you should not view Nebraska as sympathetic victim . . . RRS.com's Tech Talk sat down with Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal . . .

Stunner: Texas Tech No. 23 in Latest AP Poll

big12hoops — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:41:47 -0000

More photos » by Geoffrey McAllister - AP

Junior guard John Roberson sparked Texas Tech in its 99-92 overtime victory over No. 10 Washington on Thursday, as the Red Raiders extended their record to 8-0 for the first time since the 1929-30 season.

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Texas Tech joined the AP Top 25 for the first time in the Pat Knight era. The Red Raiders, predicted to finish 11th in the Big12Hoops.com Big 12 Conference preseason rankings currently stand at 8-0 following Thurday's 99-92 upset win over Washington in the Big12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series.

Kansas remains No. 1 in the AP poll with 62 first place votes, with Texas ranked No.2 while receiving two first place votes.

Texas A&M jumped from 19th up to No. 16 in the latest poll.

Other Big 12 schools receiving votes were Kansas St. (No. 30), Oklahoma St. (No. 33) and Baylor (No.38).

Kansas received all 31 first place votes in the CNN/USA Today Coaches Poll, with Texas ranked second.

continue for complete Top 25...

Big 12 Conference Weekly Awards

Evan Pfaff — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:22 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

Kansas guard Xavier Henry was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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Heralded Kansas freshman Xavier Henry landed his first Big 12 Rookie of the Week award, for the week ending December 6. The freshman sensation averaged 17 and 4.0, while shooting 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the floor.

Texas Tech's John Roberson took home Player of the Week honors based on his 25 point performance in a win over Washington.

Read the release from big12sports.com