No. 5 ranked Kansas and No. 14 Texas Tech will battle in the highlighted Big 12 opener Thursday night at the United Supermarkets Arena. ESPN will provide the live national television coverage at 7:00 PM ET. WatchESPN.com will stream the game online.
Kansas And Texas Tech Open Big 12 Play
Kansas (6-1) enters this game on good form, having won six-straight since losing to No. 1 Gonzaga in the opening game of the season. Texas Tech (6-1) is on a four-game winning run and will aim to extend that streak against a very talented Jayhawks team that intends to transfer its home form on the road.
The Red Raiders will be the third ranked team Kansas will face this season, having already beaten the then-No. 20 Kentucky at a neutral venue and No. 8 Creighton at Allen Fieldhouse since losing the top-ranked Zags.
Texas Tech has faced one AP ranked teams thus far, losing to then-No. 17 Houston, which has now moved into the top 10, at sixth.
The Red Raiders have beaten the likes of Troy, Grambling State, Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but they know beating the Jayhawks would give the team an even bigger confidence boost heading into the rest of the season.
Jayhawks, Raiders Players To Watch
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson comes into this game averaging 15.3 points per game, which is ranked sixth in the Big 12, while his 8.7 rebounds per contest this season is third in the conference.
Jayhawks’ Ochai Agbaji and Texas Tech’s Mac McClung are also among the top scorers among Big 12 players this season. They are both averaging 14.1 points per game.
Meanwhile, Christian Braun is scoring 11.9 points per game with 5.6 rebounds for Kansas, while David McCormack is averaging 10.1 points and 5.7 boards through seven games.
For the Red Raiders, Terrence Shannon Jr. averages 11.8 points with 4.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 50.0% from the floor. Kyler Edwards is putting out 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists, while Marcus Santos-Silva leads the team in rebounds per game, 7.6.
Big 12 Basketball Player Stats | More Basketball News and Highlights
