Allen Fieldhouse. Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pit.

In three seasons, Texas Tech’s junior core has played in some of the most hostile basketball venues west of the Mississippi. So the No. 16 Raiders aren’t exactly terrified at the prospect of facing a sold-out crowd in Wichita, Kan.

“They stand up, they’re really loud, they sell out most of their games,” forward Mike Singletary said. “It’s going to be a really good environment to get a road game in.”

Texas Tech and D'walyn Roberts will try to remain perfect on the season when they travel to Wichita State tonight to face the 9-1 Shockers. (Merissa Ferguson/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Tech (9-0) tips off against Wichita State (9-1) tonight at 7 p.m. While the host school finished its finals on Friday, it appears enough students have stuck around to help sell out the 10,500 seat arena.

Nevertheless, Tech’s coaches spent last week prepping their team as much for the Shocker fans as the players. They’ve talked about tuning out the crowd, but listening more closely to each other.

“Our coaches keep telling us to make sure we talk on the court because we aren’t going to be able to hear them when they call out plays and stuff,” forward D’walyn Roberts said.

Wichita State’s fans almost picked up a technical foul during their team’s 80-68 win against TCU on Dec. 12. Four Shockers reached double-digit scoring in the game, led by forward J.T. Durley’s 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and guard Toure Murry’s 17 points, including three 3-point shots. Singletary said Murry, last year’s Wichita Eagle Most Outstanding Player and a member of the all-conference freshman team, “has good size and can shoot the ball.”

With several big men who can shoot outside the arc, Wichita State will try to force Tech’s forwards to defend on the perimeter.

“We’ve got to get into them and defend them,” Roberts said. “We have to make them drive. We’d rather have a two than a three (point basket).”

Coach Pat Knight said the Shocker defense could cause Tech trouble. They’ll likely hone in on Singletary, Tech’s leading scorer with 14.2 points per game.

Wichita State’s only loss this season came in its third game, when it lost 68-55 to Pittsburgh during the College Basketball Experience Classic in Kansas City, Mo.

“They’re going to pose a lot of problems because they can push the ball up, they defend,” Knight said. “Playing in that environment will be tough but we have to.”

If nothing else, Tech is approaching the game as good preparation for its road schedule later this season. After all, the Raiders will return to Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena and New Mexico’s Pit.

“We’ve got to start playing in some hostile environments,” Knight said. “Just putting ourselves on the butcher’s block will help us, I think, when we play on the road in the Big 12.”