A New Era in Texas Tech Basketball begins

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-8, 3-3) travel to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears (16-4, 4-2) at the Ferrell Center on Wednesday night -- only this time, without Coach Bob Knight. RaiderPower.com breaks down the matchup and gives you the Keys to the Game if the Red Raiders want to escape Waco with a huge road victory over a very competitive Baylor team—and put the bears back into hibernation.

Unexpectedly, the sports world found out Monday that legendary coach Robert Montgomery Knight would resign as head coach, effective immediately.

Knight, age 67, amassed 902 career victories during his brilliant career, 138 of which were at Texas Tech University.

The General has handed over the reins to his very capable son and protégé, Pat Knight. "He's just tired, that's the bottom line,” Pat Knight told reporters. “And he just thought it was a really good chance for me to get my feet wet before next season."

Coach Knight saw the advantage in letting Pat hit the ground running. “My thinking was that for Pat and for this team—most of which is returning next year—the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining ten games.” Nevertheless, Bob Knight’s invaluable experience will be missed.

Without a doubt, coach Knight put Texas Tech on the map, and lifted this basketball program to levels never reached before. He had the highest winning percentage of any Tech coach (.627). The Red Raiders went into post-season play during five out of six seasons (4 NCAA and 1 NIT Tournament appearance) and also recorded 20+ wins in all but one season.

The General always found a way to get the most out of his players, no matter where the talent lay. 

Coach Bob Knight will be missed dearly by many at Texas Tech, but all great things eventually come to an end, as they say. However, Pat has been alongside his father for seven years now—learning from the game’s best. He has accepted with open arms the opportunity to coach this team to future victory.

The Pat Knight era begins on February 6^th, 2008 at Baylor. Red Raider Nation awaits!


Baylor Bears

2006-2007 Record – Overall (15-16), Conference (4-12)
2006-2007 Postseason – None
Coach – Scott Drew (5^th Season)

Last season, the series was split with the home team winning each contest. 
January 13, 2007 – 73-70 Loss at Waco.
February 28, 2007 – 85-74 Win in Lubbock.


2007-2008 Season

Baylor is coming off of a tough loss on Saturday, 82-70, at Texas. The Bears led 31-17 midway through the first half but had their lead cut to 38-34 at the half. The game remained close until the last few minutes, when Texas pulled away for the win, avoiding Coach Rick Barnes’s first loss to Baylor as the coach of the Longhorns.

Baylor is enjoying much success this season and has already surpassed its win total of 15 from last year. Five players are scoring in double figures:
 

Player	Position	Points Per Game
Curtis Jerrells	Guard	14.3
Kevin Rogers	Forward	12.7
Henry Dugat	Guard	11.8
LaceDarius Dunn	Guard	11.7
Aaron Bruce	Guard	11.0

A huge win and memorable game for the Bears this season occurred when they met the Texas A&M Aggies on January 23^rd at Reed Arena in College Station. Baylor pulled away after five overtime periods, 116-110 (the first 5-OT game in Big 12 history). Curtis Jerrells scored 36 points and made 20 free throws in the contest to lead the guard-heavy Bears to victory.

However, with losses against Oklahoma and Texas, they have not won since.

This will be the 115th meeting between the two schools, with Tech leading the series 73-41. Of all the games played at Baylor, the series is tied at 27-27. Tech is currently on a one-game winning streak against Baylor. Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 8:00 PM Central Time.


Keys to the Game

1. Consistent free throw shooting.
2. Rebounding – crash the boards hard every time.
3. Limit Baylor’s three-point shot attempts. BU is averaging just under 9 three pointers per game (an average of about 27 points per game).
4. Limit costly Turnovers.
5. Contain scoring threats Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers.
6. Play tough defense. The Bears lost momentum in Austin due to a stalwart hold by the Longhorns.
    

Following these “Keys to the Game” is a must if the Red Raiders want to steal a game from Baylor on the road. It will take a great effort to defeat this team, but Texas Tech is certainly capable of accomplishing this. Tech will need this win to build momentum as they go back on the road at Nebraska on Saturday.