MBB takes on Texas Tech Wednesday
12/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2010
Arlington, Tex. - UT Arlington Men's Basketball Game Preview
UT Arlington at Texas Tech
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 - 7 pm CT
United Spirit Arena - Lubbock, Texas
TV: Texas Tech Sports Network/espn3.com
Radio: KVCE-AM (1160)/kvceradio.com
Series: Texas Tech leads 5-0
UT Arlington plays its fourth consecutive road game Wednesday at Texas Tech. The Mavericks come into the game 5-4 after losing at Louisiana Tech 62-61 last Saturday. That loss was the third consecutive for UTA which is a season-high. The Mavericks have lost these three games by a total of just 13 points.
The Mavericks are led in scoring by LaMarcus Reed at 16.1 points per game while Darius Richardson is the only other player in double figures at 10.2 points per game. Mike Singletary and Brad Reese lead the Red Raiders in scoring at 13.1 points per contest.
Texas Tech leads the series 5-0 with the team's last playing in 1998. The series dates back to 1968. This will also be the Mavericks first of two consecutive games against a Big 12 opponent as they play at Kansas next Wednesday.
UTA GAME NOTES QUICK LOOK
A LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS UT Arlington plays its fourth consecutive road game Wednesday at Texas Tech...the game is part of six consecutive road games for the Mavs (UTA's next home games is on Jan. 5 vs. Houston Baptist)...UTA enters the game 5-4 after losing 62-61 at Louisiana Tech Saturday...the loss was the 3rd consecutive for the Mavs which is a season-high.
COVERAGE The Texas Tech game can be heard on KVCE 1160 AM in the DFW Metroplex...the game can be listened online via kvceradio.com...Mike Young, the "Voice of the Mavericks", and Associate AD Gregg Elkin call the action...the game can also be seen on espn3.com or on the Texas Tech Sports Network...Gametracker is also available via utamavs.com.
UTA - TEXAS TECH SERIES Tonight's game is the 6th meeting between the schools...it is the first meeting since an 80-55 Texas Tech win on Dec. 12, 1998...4 of the 5 previous games have been played in Lubbock in a series that dates back to 1968.
UTA vs. THE BIG 12 The Mavericks are 3-49 all-time against teams in the Big 12...in the program's history they have defeated Baylor 12/16/80 (94-80 on 12/16/80), Oklahoma State (69-58 on 12/3/87 at home) and Texas A&M (77-75 on 12/7/70 in College Station)...since the win at Oklahoma State, the Mavs have gone 0-22 against teams currently in the Big 12...the Mavericks next game is at Big 12 member Kansas.
MAVERICKS HEAD COACH Scott Cross Scott Cross is in his 5th season as the head coach at UT Arlington...he has a career coaching record of 71-61 (.538)...he has a career SLC regular season record of 32-32 and 3-3 in the conference tournament...Cross led the Mavericks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2008 after winning the Southland Conference Tournament...in 2008 he led his team to a school-record 21 victories and his team completed a school record 17-game home winning streak (3 games in `07 and the first 14 of `08)...Cross reached 50 wins faster than any coach in school history (90th game)...a 1998 graduate of UT Arlington, Cross was a 2-time Academic All-American at his alma mater where he lettered 3 times from 1995-98.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START OVERALL AND IN NOVEMBER UTA started the season 5-1 which tied for the 4th best mark in school history...the Mavericks also went 5-1 to start the 1984-85 season...the best starts were 8-0 in 2007-08 followed by 7-1 in 1980-81 and 6-1 in 1971-72...the Mavericks posted 5 victories in November which was the 2nd-highest total in school history...the 2007-08 team was 6-0 in November.
DEFENSE AMONG THE TOPS IN THE NATION The Mavericks are ranked 37th in the nation in field goal percentage defense in the latest NCAA statistics at 37.6% (2nd in the Southland Conference)...UTA has held their opponents under 40 percent from the floor in 5 times (but have not done so in the last 3 games)...Hampton leads the country in this category at 33.2%...UTA opponents are also shooting just 31.6% from 3-point range.
