Texas Tech Up For the Challenge of Defending Labaron Philon in NCAA Tournament

TAMPA, Fla. -- Alabama basketball is riding high after cruising to a 20-point victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to Sunday's Round of 32 matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Crimson Tide saw sophomore star Labaron Philon nearly score a 30-point triple-double as the Mobile product scored 29 points, with eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals to propel Alabama into the next round.

Philon's impressed all season long, garnering Third Team All-American honors across four different major publications, averaging 22 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game, but his spectacular season doesn't intimidate the Red Raiders, as Texas Tech's already seen some of the best guards in the nation throughout the year.

Texas Tech faced Illinois' Kylan Boswell, Purdue's Braden Smith, Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Houston's Kingston Flemings twice, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, and Arizona's Brayden Burries this season. The contingent averaged 21.7 points and 4.5 assists while serving the Red Raiders' five losses in the seven matchups.

Philon looks to fall right in line with his peers and give Texas Tech all they can handle in Sunday's second round matchup, and Red Raiders head coach Grant McCasland knows he's capable of giving his team problems.

"I tried to dissect some of it last night and then again this morning to try to get a feel for him, and I kept thinking, like, what can you take away -- what can he not do?" McCasland said. "Every time I think I have a beat on it, it's something else that he shows. Man, he can score at all the levels, passes so well, he's competitive. His motor runs non-stop. Just really impressed with his ability to orchestrate wins and figure out a way in different possessions to create advantages at all times. And he can do it off the bounce, he can do it with his decision making off the ball, he can get into ball screens and short roll. Pretty remarkable all the things he can do to put pressure on people. Really, I don't know if there's a comparison just because he's got size and can do it in a lot of different ways. But definitely impressed with his ability to win."

The Red Raiders have already seen the best guards in the nation, giving them plenty of experience against talented guards to lean on to prepare for Philon, but Texas Tech's Christian Anderson has something even better to lean on. Anderson's Oak Hill Academy team played Philon's Link Academy when the pair were seniors, giving Anderson personal experience to think about ahead of the Round of 32 matchup.

Philon's Link Academy defeated Anderson's Oak Hill Academy side 63-61 on a buzzer beater, but the experience stayed with Anderson two years later.

"I know playing against him in high school and stuff, I haven't played against him in college, but he plays intense, he likes to play gritty, and he likes to talk a lot," Anderson said. "So he's going to be a competitive guard to go up against. So super ready for him, we're going to be ready for Bama as a team and try to stick to the game plan."

Anderson scored 10 points in the high school loss, while Philon chipped in nine points, with six assists and four steals in the win, but the stakes are much higher two years later as one player's season will end on Sunday night.

Anderson complimented Philon's game but said the key to slowing him down is to be physical with the Alabama guard.

"His speed, his quickness, he gets his shot off in a lot of different ways, so just be physical with him," Anderson said.

McCasland smiled when asked about Philon talking a lot on the court and aspoused confidence that his team would embrance the high stakes of Sunday's matchup.

"Well, they play in a great league, obviously, and we play in, I think, the best league in college basketball," McCasland said. "I don't think there's a problem with the competitiveness of either team. I think we've seen enough environments and we've played against enough great players, Labaron being obviously a fantastic player. And that's part of the fun of this, man. If you don't enjoy the competition and someone communicating with you during the game, then don't play this game; that's what I'll tell you. There's other things you can go do that -- so we just won't shy away from the opportunity to compete, and I know they won't either."

The Red Raiders have seen the best players in college basketball throughout the year and come up short in several occasions, but the experience throughout the year, and Anderson's personal experience of having played Philon before gives Texas Tech confidence they're up for the challenge Philon presents.

"He's definitely up there for sure," Texas Tech guard Donovan Atwell said. "He can get to his spots. He scores at will. He's very fast. So it's going to be a challenge for sure, but we're definitely up to it."

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