Texas Tech @ Iowa preview

Texas Tech is off to a 5-0 start with an average victory margin of 26.8 points heading into Thursday night's game with Iowa in the Las Vegas Invitational at Orleans Arena. And head coach Chris Beard admits that his 12th-ranked team, which returns just one starter from last year's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight squad, is looking forward to a step up in competition.

First up are the 4-1 Hawkeyes who return three starters from an NCAA tourney team that won 23 games last season. "Every game on the schedule is so important," Beard told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "But it wouldn't be truthful to say we haven't been looking at this all the way since this summer. First chance to compete for a championship in a four-team tournament. We have a lot of respect for Iowa -- one of the biggest teams in college basketball, one of the best shooting teams in college basketball. It will be a great challenge for us." Iowa comes in off a 85-59 home win over Cal Poly on Sunday but lost 6-11 forward Jack Nunge, who had started all five games, to a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in the first half as he was driving to the basket. "All of us feel for Jack," Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey said. "This is an unfortunate setback for a young man who spent countless hours in the gym and weight room last year preparing for this season."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT TEXAS TECH (5-0): The Red Raiders come in off a 96-66 victory over Long Island on Sunday, connecting on 11-of-19 3-pointers and shooting 51.5 percent from the field. All five starters are averaging in double figures led by 6-4 freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey who leads the Big 12 in scoring with a 19.4 average after pouring in a career-high 27 points against the Sharks, including five 3-pointers, to go along with six rebounds. Senior forward TJ Holyfield and junior guard David Moretti, the team's lone returning starter, are tied for second in scoring with 13.8 averages while guards Terrence Shannon and Kyler Edwards are both averaging 10 points.

ABOUT IOWA (4-1): Senior guard Jordan Bohannon, who averaged 11.6 points while also leading the team in assists last season but underwent hip surgery in May, is expected to play Thursday after sitting out Sunday's win with hip soreness. "I knew that if I was going to play back-to-back games here in Vegas that I needed to give my hip a rest last weekend," Bohannon told hawkeyesports.com after practice Tuesday. Luke Garza, a 6-11 junior center, is averaging a double-double, leading the Big Ten in scoring (22.2) and ranking third in rebounding (10.2) while also shooting 58.3 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. Creighton and San Diego State play in the other semifinal. The championship game will be played Friday night.

2. Texas Tech leads the nation with an average of 22.0 assists per game.

3. Moretti led the nation in free throw shooting percentage (92.4) last season while Bohannon has led the Big Ten in that category each of the past two seasons and is shooting 88.0 percent at the line for his career.

PREDICTION: Texas Tech 88, Iowa 78