Tech men’s basketball set to tip off 100th season | Sports | dailytoreador.com

Texas Tech head basketball coach Grant McCasland coaches from sidelines while facing off against Texas A&M Corpus Christi at the United Supermarkets Arena Nov. 16, 2023.

Texas Tech men’s basketball will tip off its centennial season at 5 p.m. Tuesday against Bethune-Cookman University and Northwestern State University at 8 p.m. Friday inside the United Supermarkets Arena.

“It’s great to be back to starting the season,” said Grant McCasland, Tech head coach. “We’ve had an eventful offseason, but it’s so much to actually get to play basketball. I think everybody starts talking about ‘This is what they could be,’ and you’re recruiting. I’m just excited to actually play.”

The Red Raiders won their only matchup with Betume-Cookman during the 2019-20 season. The Wildcats are led by head coach Reggie Theus, a two-time NBA All Star and who led the team to a 17-17 record last season.

McCasland said while the Red Raiders haven’t seen much of Bethume-Cookman, that Theus’ resume speaks for itself.

“I know that they’re (Bethume-Cookman) aggressive defensively. They’re aggressive offensively,” McCasland said. “... I think, like, with any team, you better have yourself prepared more than you try to over consume yourself because we haven’t seen them play.”

In season openers, the Red Raiders are 72-27 all time with an active 24-game home-opener win streak heading into Tuesday, according to Tech Athletics. The last loss in an opener came from former Tech head coach Bob Knight's Indiana University squad in 1999 by a score of 68-60.

Tech also will take on Northwestern State led by first-year head coach Rick Cabrera on Friday. The Red Raiders are 7-0 against the Demons, with all matchups played in Lubbock, according to Tech Athletics.

The Demons only return four players from last year’s roster, but added 11 over the offseason. Returning center J.C. Riley Jr. and guard Chris Mubiru both saw significant minutes during last season and will be key players moving forward for the Demons this season, according to Northwestern State Athletics.

McCasland has not played Northwestern State during his tenure as the Red Raiders’ head coach, but said he believes his team is prepared for this test.

“I think we’ve really done significant work on how we get our team to be where we can face anything,” McCasland said. “I know it’ll be a great test and we’re excited about topping it off.”

Live video coverage, ticket options and live stats can be found on the Tech Athletics website.

Log In

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.