Jan 17, 2020Texas Tech plays hard every game and every night but the 23rd-ranked Red Raiders still have a way to go before they can be mentioned in the same breath as last season's squad that played in the national championship game.The Red Raiders look to take that next step forward on Saturday afternoon when they host Iowa State in a Big 12 Conference game in Lubbock, Texas.Texas Tech (11-5, 2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 77-63 win on the road at Kansas State. Kyler Edwards scored a career-high 24 points in the win, with Davide Moretti scoring 14 and Jahmi'us Ramsey and Kevin McCullar adding 10 points each.The Red Raiders shot 47.2 percent from the field and owned a 31-23 rebounding advantage in the victory over the reeling Wildcats."These Big 12 games are hard to win, especially on the road," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "We're really pleased we were able to get a win tonight. Thought our guys played really hard. Obviously, played much better statistically in the second half, but I thought both halves we played about as hard as we could in spurts of the game." Terrence Shannon Jr. did not play for the second straight game due to a back injury he sustained before the Red Raiders' road contest in West Virginia.The freshman guard is being listed as a game-time decision against Iowa State."Just trying to get him back to 100 percent," Beard said of Shannon. "As a coach, you make these decisions and you've just got to live with them. Made the right one tonight because he gets some extra rest and hopefully be back full speed sooner rather than later." Iowa State (8-8, 1-3) is looking to rebound after a 68-55 loss at No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday. The Cyclones were done in by a cold shooting night, connecting on 39.7 percent from the field -- including just 35.7 in the first half.No Iowa State player reached double figures in scoring in the loss, with Prentiss Nixon and Rasir Bolton leading the Cyclones with nine points each.The difference in the game was Baylor's aggressiveness, as the Bears went 13 of 22 from the free throw line while Iowa State had just six free throws, making three. Baylor also owned a 45-33 rebounding edge.Baylor dominated the game in the second half, even though the Cyclones were within 10 points with three minutes to play."The second half, man, we didn't compete," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "If you're going to try and beat a really good team in our league on the road -- forget that we had open shots and we missed shots and all that -- we've got to compete better on the defensive end." The teams split last year's series, with the away club winning both times.--Field Level Media
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