# 2018–19 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team

The 2018–19 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team represented Texas Tech University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Red Raiders were led by third-year coach Chris Beard. They played their home games at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. They finished the season 31–7, 14–4 in Big 12 play to win the Big 12 regular season title with Kansas State. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to West Virginia. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Northern Kentucky, Buffalo, Michigan and Gonzaga to advance to their first Final Four in school history. In the Final Four they defeated Michigan State to advance to the National Championship Game, in which they were defeated by Virginia in overtime. With 31 wins, they finished with the most wins in school history.

## Previous season

They finished the season 27–10, 11–7 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament before losing in the semifinals to West Virginia. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Stephen F. Austin, Florida, and Purdue to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. In the Elite Eight, they were eliminated by Villanova.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tommy Hamilton IV | 0 | C | 6'10" | 250 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Zhaire Smith | 2 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Freshman | Garland, TX | Declared for 2018 NBA draft |
| Josh Webster | 3 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Junior | St. Louis, MO | Transferred to Missouri State |
| Hyron Edwards | 4 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Junior | East Chicago, IN | Transferred to Colorado State |
| Justin Gray | 5 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Tampa, FL | Graduated |
| Niem Stevenson | 10 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Irving, TX | Graduated |
| Zach Smith | 11 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Plano, TX | Graduated |
| Keenan Evans | 12 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Richardson, TX | Graduated |
| Alex Vilarino | 13 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Freshman | McKinney, TX | Transferred to Boston University |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Deshawn Corprew | 3 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Junior | Norfolk, VA | South Plains College. |
| Tariq Owens | 11 | F | 6'11" | 205 | RS Senior | Odenton, MD | St. John's |
| Matt Mooney | 13 | G | 6'3" | 210 | RS Senior | Wauconda, IL | South Dakota |

## Recruits
### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kyler Edwards #18 SG | Arlington, TX | Findley Prep | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Khavon Moore #9 SF | Macon, GA | Westside High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | Feb 26, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kevin McCullar Jr. #42 SF | San Antonio, TX | Karen Wagner High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 5, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Josh Mballa SF | Bordeaux, France | Putnam Science Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jul 12, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Andrei Savrasov PF | Saint Petersburg, Russia | BC Zenit | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jan 28, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Clarence Nadolny #43 CG | Montreuil, France | Scotland Performance Institute | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Jahmi'us Ramsey #5 CG | Duncanville, TX | Duncanville High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 8, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Terrence Shannon Jr. #21 SF | Chicago, IL | IMG Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Mar 11, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tyreek Smith #22 PF | Baton Rouge, LA | Trinity Christian School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 18, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Russel Tchewa #71 C | Douala, Cameroon | Putnam Science Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 10, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 6:30 pm, FSSW+ | | Incarnate Word | W 87–37 | 1–0 | 16 – Culver | 6 – Odiase | 6 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (10,198) Lubbock, TX |
| November 9, 2018* 8:00 pm, FSSW+ | | Mississippi Valley State Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game | W 84–52 | 2–0 | 17 – Moretti | 10 – Odiase | 5 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (9,873) Lubbock, TX |
| November 13, 2018* 6:30 pm, FSSW | | Southeastern Louisiana Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game | W 59–40 | 3–0 | 21 – Culver | 13 – Odiase | 4 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (8,650) Lubbock, TX |
| November 19, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. USC Hall of Fame Classic semifinals | W 78–63 | 4–0 | 18 – Culver/Owens | 9 – Culver | 5 – Culver | Sprint Center Kansas City, MO |
| November 20, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Nebraska Hall of Fame Classic finals | W 70–52 | 5–0 | 26 – Culver | 8 – Owens | 2 – 3 Tied | Sprint Center (6,521) Kansas City, MO |
| November 24, 2018* 4:30 pm, FSSW | | Northern Colorado | W 93–62 | 6–0 | 20 – Culver | 5 – 3 Tied | 6 – Culver | United Supermarkets Arena (9,689) Lubbock, TX |
| December 1, 2018* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Memphis HoopHall Miami Invitational | W 78–67 | 7–0 | 20 – Culver | 11 – Owens | 6 – Tied | American Airlines Arena Miami, FL |
| December 5, 2018* 6:30 pm, FSSW+ | No. 13 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 65–47 | 8–0 | 13 – Culver | 7 – Culver | 5 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (9,503) Lubbock, TX |
| December 12, 2018* 6:30 pm, FSSW+ | No. 11 | Northwestern State | W 79–44 | 9–0 | 15 – Culver | 8 – Owens | 6 – Moretti | United Supermarkets Arena (10,086) Lubbock, TX |
| December 15, 2018* 6:00 pm | No. 11 | Abilene Christian Throwback Game | W 82–48 | 10–0 | 30 – Culver | 8 – Corprew | 4 – Culver | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (7,169) Lubbock, TX |
| December 20, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | vs. No. 2 Duke New York Showcase | L 58–69 | 10–1 | 25 – Culver | 7 – Odiase | 4 – Culver | Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY |
| December 28, 2018* 6:00 pm, FSSW+ | No. 11 | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 71–46 | 11–1 | 19 – Culver | 10 – Corprew | 6 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (11,418) Lubbock, TX |
| January 2, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | at West Virginia | W 62–59 | 12–1 (1–0) | 18 – Culver | 6 – Culver | 2 – Culver | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| January 5, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | Kansas State Saturday Showcase | W 63–57 | 13–1 (2–0) | 19 – Moretti | 8 – Owens | 3 – Culver | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| January 8, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 8 | No. 23 Oklahoma Super Tuesday | W 66–59 | 14–1 (3–0) | 23 – Culver | 13 – Culver | 3 – Moretti | United Supermarkets Arena (14,090) Lubbock, TX |
| January 12, 2019 1:00 pm, LHN | No. 8 | at Texas | W 68–62 | 15–1 (4–0) | 22 – Mooney | 9 – Culver | 6 – Culver | Frank Erwin Center (14,070) Austin, TX |
| January 16, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 8 | Iowa State | L 64–68 | 15–2 (4–1) | 20 – Culver | 16 – Culver | 2 – Edwards | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| January 19, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at Baylor Saturday Showcase | L 62–73 | 15–3 (4–2) | 19 – Culver | 9 – Culver | 5 – Culver | Ferrell Center (9,018) Waco, TX |
| January 22, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14-T | at Kansas State Super Tuesday | L 45–58 | 15–4 (4–3) | 17 – Culver | 7 – Culver | 3 – Tied | Bramlage Coliseum (11,134) Manhattan, KS |
| January 26, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14-T | Arkansas Big 12/SEC Challenge/Saturday Showcase | W 67–64 | 16–4 | 21 – Moretti | 7 – Odiase | 4 – Culver | United Supermarkets Arena (14,290) Lubbock, TX |
| January 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 16 | TCU Big Monday | W 84–65 | 17–4 (5–3) | 18 – Tied | 7 – Culver | 7 – Moretti | United Supermarkets Arena (12,736) Lubbock, TX |
| February 2, 2019 3:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | at No. 11 Kansas | L 63–79 | 17–5 (5–4) | 14 – Moretti | 10 – Owens | 3 – Mooney | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 4, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | West Virginia Big Monday | W 81–50 | 18–5 (6–4) | 16 – Francis | 10 – Odiase | 5 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (12,831) Lubbock, TX |
| February 9, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | at Oklahoma Saturday Showcase | W 66–54 | 19–5 (7–4) | 14 – Moretti | 11 – Odiase | 6 – Edwards | Lloyd Noble Center (9,463) Norman, OK |
| February 13, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 15 | at Oklahoma State Wednesday Night Hoops | W 78–50 | 20–5 (8–4) | 19 – Culver | 7 – Owens | 8 – Moretti | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,155) Stillwater, OK |
| February 16, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 15 | Baylor Saturday Showcase | W 86–61 | 21–5 (9–4) | 18 – Culver | 8 – Culver | 4 – Culver | United Supermarkets Arena (14,598) Lubbock, TX |
| February 23, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | No. 12 Kansas Saturday Showcase/Rivalry Week | W 91–62 | 22–5 (10–4) | 26 – Culver | 13 – Odiase | 6 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| February 27, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | Oklahoma State | W 84–80 $^{OT}$ | 23–5 (11–4) | 20 – Moretti | 10 – Culver | 6 – Mooney | United Supermarkets Arena (12,248) Lubbock, TX |
| March 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | at TCU Saturday Showcase | W 81–66 | 24–5 (12–4) | 15 – Culver | 13 – Owens | 7 – Culver | Schollmaier Arena (6,616) Fort Worth, TX |
| March 4, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | Texas Big Monday | W 70–51 | 25–5 (13–4) | 16 – Culver | 7 – Culver | 4 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| March 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 8 | at Iowa State Saturday Showcase | W 80–73 | 26–5 (14–4) | 31 – Culver | 14 – Owens | 5 – Mooney | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) No. 7 | vs. (10) West Virginia Quarterfinals | L 74–79 | 26–6 | 26 – Culver | 10 – Culver | 5 – Mooney | Sprint Center Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 12:30 pm, TNT | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (14 W) Northern Kentucky First Round | W 72–57 | 27–6 | 29 – Culver | 8 – Culver | 8 – Mooney | BOK Center (12,352) Tulsa, OK |
| March 24, 2019* 5:10 pm, TNT | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (6 W) No. 15 Buffalo Second Round | W 78–58 | 28–6 | 16 – Culver | 15 – Odiase | 5 – Culver | BOK Center (12,606) Tulsa, OK |
| March 28, 2019* 8:39 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (2 W) No. 8 Michigan Sweet Sixteen | W 63–44 | 29–6 | 22 – Culver | 10 – Owens | 4 – Tied | Honda Center (16,145) Anaheim, CA |
| March 30, 2019* 5:09 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (1 W) No. 4 Gonzaga Elite Eight | W 75–69 | 30–6 | 19 – Culver | 7 – Owens | 5 – Mooney | Honda Center (15,277) Anaheim, CA |
| April 6, 2019* 8:49 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (2 E) No. 5 Michigan State Final Four | W 61–51 | 31–6 | 22 – Mooney | 9 – Odiase | 2 – Tied | U.S. Bank Stadium (72,711) Minneapolis, MN |
| April 8, 2019* 8:20 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (1 S) No. 2 Virginia National Championship | L 77–85 $^{OT}$ | 31–7 | 17 – Francis | 9 – Culver | 6 – Culver | U.S. Bank Stadium (72,062) Minneapolis, MN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West, E=East, S=South. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 14-T | 16 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | 19 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.