Texas Tech Red Raiders look to play smart against Providence

Carlos Silva Jr., Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

November 30, 2021 at 9:54 PM·5 min read

Following a 32-point win over Lamar on Saturday, Mark Adams sat down for his postgame press conference and uttered a statement that reverberated.

"You guys have better questions than I have comments," he said. "I'll just start with the questions. Y'all go ahead."

And there were plenty of questions following the 89-57 trouncing of the Cardinals, who got outplayed in the paint and low-block thanks to a fast start from the Red Raiders.

Kevin Obanor led the charge, netting 16 of a season-best 20 points in the first half, to help Texas Tech claim its sixth straight victory and stay undefeated.

But, the 6-foot-8 forward knew there were still some areas of concern as he scanned the stat sheet and saw the Red Raiders committed a season-worst 17 turnovers — a game after recording a season-low seven — before embarking on the first true road game of the regular season.

Lamar's C.J. Roberts (20) drives the ball around Texas Tech's Kevin Obanor (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, in Lubbock, Texas.

More: Texas Tech basketball: Kevin Obanor capitalizes on early offense, Red Raiders rout Lamar at home

It's a facet of Texas Tech's game that needs to be shored up before taking on Providence College in a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday contest as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle held at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Rhode Island.

The game is scheduled to be broadcast on FS1.

"We've just gotta pick that up," Obanor said of committing 17 turnovers before a stretch of games that includes Providence, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 3 Gonzaga. "We've just gotta play smarter. We've got a lot of veterans on the team. We can't be doing that, that's very unacceptable. (Sunday), when we go to practice, that will be addressed.

"And we play Providence on Wednesday. So it's going to be a bigger match. We have to not get too caught up on the highs of this win and just stay back in the gym. Clean up those turnovers, even on the defensive end: 57 points is still a lot."

While 57 points is a lot to yield, giving up the ball 17 times is just as dangerous for the Red Raiders (6-0) who face off against a Friars squad that owns a 4-0 record at home and looking to continue its strong start to the year.

Texas Tech's Terrence Shannon, Jr. (1) dribbles the ball around Lamar's Casey Brooks (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, in Lubbock, Texas.

Marcus Santos-Silva is a staunch proponent that his teammates must not look forward to the teams with numbers in front of their name. Rather, the focus must be on the Friars (6-1) and the number of turnovers they log Wednesday night.

On Nov. 27, Santos-Silva and Adonis Arms each committed four turnovers and will need to shore that up to help the offense become more efficient against a Providence team averaging

"We've just gotta take it day by day," Santos-Silva said of playing Providence, Tennessee and Gonzaga in three of the next four games. "I know we have Tennessee and Gonzaga, but right now our main focus is Providence. We can't think about the other two games, we've got to focus on Providence because they're a really good team.

"And, also, they play really good at home. It's going to be a really good matchup because they're really experienced veterans."

Nate Watson is averaging 17.7 points per game, while Jlijami Durham is averaging 13.4 points per contest to lead the Friars, whose only loss is to Virginia.

Texas Tech guard Davion Warren (2) reacts after dunking the ball against Prairie View A&M on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

Noah Horchler rounds things out, netting 11.9 points and a team-leading 8.7 rebounds per game for Providence which is led by Ed Cooley, who owns a 200-136 coaching record coming into the matchup against the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech is coming into the contest with a six-game winning streak, which is something Adams wanted following the Lamar victory.

The Red Raiders also touts a quintet of double-figure scorers: Terrence Shannon, Jr. (16.3 points per game), Kevin McCullar (15.3 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game), Bryson Williams (14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) Davion Warren (12.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Obanor 10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

"We just wanted momentum going into the Providence game," Adams said. "We talked about that at halftime, that this was going to be one of the last chances to play everybody and to really get a chance to see what everybody could do.

"We wanted to make sure it was a team game and we improved as a team. ... These are all things to build on."

One other factor is the possible addition of Kevin McCullar, who was ruled out against Omaha with a non-COVID illness and was seen wearing a mask and sitting on the Texas Tech bench Saturday against the Cardinals.

McCullar was included in practice pictures shared by the official Texas Tech Twitter account meaning the 6-foot-6 guard is on schedule to make a return to the court.

"He was in our locker room, doing better, still recovering, making progress," Adams said of McCullar's status last Saturday. "He's not 100% yet, but I think by Monday or so we'll have him back on the practice floor ready to go to Providence."

TEXAS TECH VS. PROVIDENCE

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Dunkin' Donuts Center, Rhode Island

Records: Texas Tech 6-0, Providence 6-1

TV: FS1

Radio: FM 97.3/FM 100.7

Follow along: Follow @cmsilvajr on Twitter for live updates, with postgame recap and interviews to follow at www.lubbockonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball to play smart against Providence

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TEXAS TECH VS. PROVIDENCE

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