Texas Tech roster status in the air as Red Raiders host Kansas Jayhawks
Just who will be available for the Texas Tech men's basketball team on Saturday when the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks come to town?
Even Mark Adams is in the dark on that one.
Forced to play Wednesday's game against Iowa State with just seven players, Adams said that, as of Friday afternoon, those same seven players are good to go for the 3 p.m. Saturday Big 12 Conference tilt in the United Supermarkets Arena.
As for everyone else? That's still up in the air.
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"I'm curious as well," Adams said Friday afternoon.
The 25th-ranked Red Raiders (10-3 overall, 0-1 in Big 12 play) went toe-to-toe with 11th-ranked Iowa State on Wednesday night with just three guards and seven players available overall. Seeing the floor for Texas Tech was Kevin Obanor, Bryson Williams, Davion Warren, Clarence Nadolny, Adonis Arms, Marcus Santos-Silva and KJ Allen.
Kevin McCullar made the trip to Ames, Iowa, but suffered an injury in Tuesday's practice that forced him to miss Texas Tech's 51-47 loss.
McCullar joined Mylik Wilson and Terrence Shannon, Jr. on the injury report. The rest of the team missed the game due to health and safety protocols.
Adams said those players will be game-time decisions for Saturday's game. He put McCullar's odds at 50-50 to play. Wilson, said Adams, could see a few minutes against the Jayhawks (12-1, 1-0) as well.
Despite the key absences, those that played on Wednesday helped Texas Tech hold Iowa State to 20 points below its season scoring average. Their offense wasn't there, but the Red Raider defense showed up.
"We're excited about where we are," Adams said. "Our mentality's good. Momentum's good. We just need all of our healthy guys back. Need our team back. I think we're going to be a very tough, physical team with depth that can beat anybody, but we may be two or three weeks away before we see that."
It's unlikely the Red Raiders will get everybody back for Saturday's game, an unfortunate reality considering the caliber of the opponent coming to Lubbock.
Kansas is coming off a 74-63 win at Oklahoma State to open its conference slate. The Jayhawks boast one of the nation's best offenses, ranking seventh in field goal percentage, eighth in points per game and 15th in scoring margin.
"When you start scouting a team, you try to look at their strengths, weaknesses, discover some of those weaknesses," Adams said. "They just don't have many."
However, the same areas Kansas excels offensively is where Texas Tech excels defensively. The Red Raiders are eighth nationally in field-goal percentage defense, ninth in scoring defense and 13th in scoring margin.
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Kansas — which has won the last four meetings in the series — has the luxury of having its full roster available. This includes Ochai Agbaji, who ranks 17th in the country in scoring (20.2 points per game) and 22nd in 3-point shooting (45.1%). Agbaji hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds when Kansas visited Texas Tech last season.
The Jayhawks have hit 37% of their 3-pointer so far this season despite being in the bottom half of the country in attempts. Adams credited this with the shot quality in those attempts and the presence of the 6-foot-10 David McCormack in the post.
"You've got to have guys that can do both," Adams said of defending both the 3 and McCormack. "Guys that can help off of him and at the same time get to that backside and guard those 3-point shots."
No. 25 Texas Tech vs. No. 6 Kansas
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: United Supermarkets Arena
Records: Texas Tech 10-3, 0-1; Kansas 12-1, 1-0
TV: ESPN2
Radio: FM 97.3
Game coverage: Follow @NathanGiese on Twitter for live updates, with postgame recap and interviews to follow on www.lubbockonline.com.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Team Big 12 record Overall record
Baylor 2-0 14-0
Texas 2-0 12-2
Kansas 1-0 12-1
Iowa State 1-1 13-1
Oklahoma 1-1 11-3
TCU 0-0 10-1
West Virginia 0-1 11-2
Texas Tech 0-1 10-3
Oklahoma State 0-1 10-3
Kansas State 0-1 7-5
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball: Roster status in the air as Red Raiders host Jayhawks
