ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

No. 13 Texas Tech (18-4, 9-2) at No. 20 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (16-6, 10-1) | McKale Center | 8:30 p.m. Saturday | ESPN | 1290-AM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Trey Townsend (6-6 senior)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

TEXAS TECH

G Elijah Hawkins (5-11 senior)

G Chance McMillian (6-3 senior)

F Kerwin Walton (6-5 senior)

G Darrion Williams (6-6 junior)

C JT Toppin (6-9 sophomore)

How they match up

The last time: Texas Tech outrebounded ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ 50-34, by far the Wildcats’ worst rebounding margin of the season, and held UA to just 31.0% shooting during Texas Tech’s 70-54 win on Jan. 18 in Lubbock, Texas. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ missed 15 of its last 16 field goals and did not score in the final 5:16.

Series history: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s loss on Jan. 18 broke a streak of seven straight wins over its former Border Conference rival, dating back to the 1973-74 season and counting a two-game home-and-home series during the Sean Miller era. Texas Tech leads the all-time series 29-24.

What’s new with the Red Raiders: Probably even more so than ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Texas Tech has been one of the Big 12's biggest surprises so far this season, winning seven straight games to sit alone in third place behind UA and Houston.

The Red Raiders’ winning streak includes an overtime win at Houston last Saturday in which standout forward JT Toppin and coach Grant McCasland were both ejected early in the game. The Red Raiders were also without forward Darrion Williams for their Jan. 29 game with TCU after he suffered an ankle injury on Jan. 26 against Oklahoma State.

Most recently, Texas Tech beat Baylor 73-59 on Monday by limiting the Bears to just 33.9% shooting, though the Bears were without standout freshman VJ Edgecombe, who injured an ankle against Kansas on Feb. 1.

He said it: “They're playing great. They're definitely playing as a unit, with the same shared vision.

"(They’re doing) nothing that we haven't seen in terms of scheme. The biggest thing starts and ends with their physicality. They pretty much punked us (on Jan. 18) and that's what it's going to come down to on Saturday. That’s their identity, being physical. They did that against us and we weren't able to punch back. If we want to have a chance this game, we have to be physical and we have to rebound.�

“They've added some wrinkles, but it's all wrinkles to get the guys like McMillian and Toppin the ball in their comfortable areas. They have a clear plan and they just execute to maximize their potential.

“I think that game just reinforced how we how we want to play, and what kind of play style works with us. Against Texas Tech, we definitely took a lot more low-quality shots than we were previously. That has something to do with how Texas Tech was playing us. I think we just kind of freaked out and started taking the shots that they wanted us to take. We just kind of settled. It just reinforced the fact of how we want to play and it's evident in how we've been playing since that game." — UA assistant Ken Nakagawa, who scouted the Red Raiders

Key players

Texas Tech – JT Toppin

Adversity hasn’t held back the Red Raiders’ top rebounder (8.4) and second-leading scorer (14.9). After he lost 10 pounds because of an illness before Texas Tech played ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ last month, Toppin recovered well enough to collect 20 points and 16 rebounds in just 26 minutes against the Wildcats. He also had eight points and eight rebounds on Tuesday in Texas Tech’s win over Baylor, three days after being ejected at Houston.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — Henri Veesaar

The Wildcats’ Estonian redshirt sophomore was just getting untracked early in Big 12 play when he was scoreless without a rebound at Texas Tech. Now he’s coming off games at ASU and BYU when he averaged 14 points and six rebounds, and the Wildcats will need his rebounding help against the rugged Red Raiders.

Sidelines

No days off

The Big 12 is expected to shrink from 20 to 18 games next season, and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson pretty much explained why earlier this week.

All of the league’s teams are cramming in two games over each of the conference’s 10 weeks, often with both an away and home game in the same week.

The Cougars, despite living in a central location in the league’s geographic footprint, have had it particularly bad. Thanks in part to weather-related rescheduling, they have played five games in 13 days, including road games at Kansas and West Virginia in the same week.

“What we need more than anything else is rest,� Sampson said after Houston beat Oklahoma State on Tuesday. “We need to rest.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ used to have two “half-byeâ€� weeks in the Pac-12, where they would usually not play anyone else the week of an ASU game. But when told of Sampson’s comments Friday, UA coach Tommy Lloyd said he has adjusted to the Big 12 schedule by cutting back on scrimmaging and full-contact practices but otherwise embraced it.

“You have to make sure that your guys are physically in a good place, and mentally and emotionally in a good place, as well,� Lloyd said. “I love how the schedule has been set up, and I love all the challenges presented.

"It's actually been a lot of fun. We want to keep our mind on it but we're still to the point of the season where there’s obviously still things to work on, and maybe you work on them differently than you did early in the year.�

Not sayin’

Already considering McCasland a good friend even before they started coaching together on USA Basketball’s U18 team last summer – they will work together on the U19 team this summer – Lloyd said he has spoken with McCasland since their Jan. 18 meeting in Lubbock.

What they shared remains between them.

Among other things, both Lloyd and McCasland were involved in heated controversies a week ago: Caleb Love was ejected from UA’s win at ASU after responding to a head-butt from ASU’s BJ Freeman, while McCasland and TTU’s JT Toppin were ejected after officials ruled Toppin purposely kicked a player in the groin — and McCasland argued it intensely.

Lloyd said he had seen the play involving Toppin but said he was “in no position to comment on anything that has nothing to do with our games.�

And as for the rematch of the Jan. 18 game, Lloyd said the conversation with McCasland was just “see you tomorrow at the game. That's all that's been mentioned.�

Love-Land coming soon

With time to be just a casual bowler these days, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ guard Caleb Love has bigger plans for the sport whenever his basketball days are over.

Not just by throwing more balls down the lanes, either.

“I want to open my own bowling alley, really,� Love said on Lloyd’s radio show this week. “I want to do that (with) a little arcade, or have some mini golf with it, join a league maybe.�

Don't sleep

After ESPN moved Saturday’s game from 8 to 8:30 p.m. this week, play-by-play announcer Brian Jefferies tried to warn listeners on Lloyd's radio show, but he was cut off.

“No, no. We want everyone there early,� Lloyd said. “That’s a good thing.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has announced the game is sold out.

Numbers game

12: Players in NCAA history to score 1,000 points at two different schools, including Caleb Love, who now has 1,006 at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ after an 18-point game at BYU on Tuesday. Love also scored 1,476 at North Carolina from 2020-21 to 2022-23.

45.5: Chance McMillian’s 3-point shooting percentage, ranking first in the Big 12.

80.2: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s average scoring in Big 12 games, most in the conference.

— Bruce Pascoe