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Auburn Basketball: Texas Tech Q&A With Wreck ‘Em Red

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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The 3-2 Auburn basketball team will travel to Lubbock Wednesday for the first game of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. As we look ahead to the game, we sat down with Robert Jones, the editor of Wreck ‘Em Red (@WreckEm_Red on Twitter), the Texas Tech fan site on the FanSided network.

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Robert was kind enough to answer some of our questions in regards to this weekend’s game.

Fly War Eagle: As you know, Auburn’s got a new head coach in Bruce Pearl. The Red Raiders were 14-18 in Tubby Smith’s first season in Lubbock last year. How do fans feel about Tubby and the direction of the program under his direction?

Wreck ‘Em Red: Tubby Smith is the greatest thing to hit Lubbock since Paul McCartney played at the United Spirit Arena. He’s a basketball wizard with a proven record and ability to develop young players. I’ll never understand why Minnesota let him go, but their loss is certainly our gain, and every Red Raider has been pleased with the results so far.

FWE: Texas Tech is 4-1 so far this season with the only loss coming in overtime to LSU, but like Auburn has a roster with a lot of newcomers. What new players will make the biggest impact this season?

WER: Norense Odiase, Tech’s first true big man in a while, is writing all the headlines and deservedly so, but keep an eye on Devaugntah Williams, a JUCO transfer out of Ohio. He helped lead that huge comeback the other night and is one of the best three-point shooters in the country.

FWE: Williams and Robert Turner are currently the top two scorers for the Red Raiders. What can you tell us about their game?

WER: Devaugntah is a sharp-shooter who hits on nearly 70% of his threes while Rob Turner can do a little bit of everything. He’s the second leading scorer on the team because he plays so many minutes, really, and he plays so many minutes because he’s the unquestioned senior leader.

FWE: Zach Smith and Odiase are the team’s top rebounders so far. They’re listed at 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-9, respectively, and Auburn’s going to struggle a lot with bigger teams this season. How will they impact this game?

WER: Odiase is a mauler inside with a big frame and a surprising amount of poise for a true freshman. Zach Smith is just a freak athlete who does a great job going up and getting contested boards. Where they and the team need the most work is on the offensive end, because they don’t create nearly enough second chances for themselves.

FWE: It’s early, and we’re still learning about both clubs, but would you care to make a prediction for Wednesday’s game?

WER: I’ll say Texas Tech wins it 71-68 with the home-court advantage and slightly better numbers in the turnover column. Should be another great Big 12-SEC matchup, though.

Thanks Robert. We’re looking forward to a great game Wednesday in Lubbock.

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