'He wants to be challenged.' 5 things to know about Texas Tech basketball's Kevin Obanor

Kevin Obanor and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are back in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to another Sweet 16 with wins against Montana State and Notre Dame in the first two round rounds.

At 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, the small forward from Houston, Texas has five straight double-doubles in NCAA Tournament games going back to last year's run with Oral Roberts. Obanor transferred to Texas Tech last year, picking the Big 12 school over Arkansas.

Here's what you need to know about the Red Raiders starter ahead of the team's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Duke:

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Kevin Obanor's parents lead a church

Kevin Obanor grew up in a religious home, with his father Bishop Ken Obanor and mother, Pastor Johanna Obanor. His father is originally from Nigeria and his mother is from the Netherlands.

The couple lead Victory Life Church International in Houston.

Obanor committed to Oral Roberts out of high school in part due to its Christian values.

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Kevin Obanor has played in the Sweet 1 before

During the 2020-21 season, Obanor helped Oral Roberts reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2008. As a No. 15 seed, the team took down No. 2 Ohio State in overtime in the first round and followed up with a win against No. 7 Florida.

In the Sweet Sixteen, Golden Eagles' teammate Max Abmas' last second-shot was a no-go against No. 3 Arkansas, with the team losing out at a spot in the Elite Eight 72-70.

In each of those tournament games, Obanor earned a double-double. He put 30 points and 11 rebounds against Ohio State, 28 points and 11 rebounds against Florida, and 12 points and 11 rebounds against Arkansas.

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Why did Kevin Obanor transfer to Texas Tech?

Obanor entered the NBA Draft but eventually withdrew and entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer last July, doing so after workouts with some NBA teams.

He started to make a pros and cons list of staying in the NBA Draft or returning for another year of college basketball. In the end, Obanor said he left it in God's hands.

All in his hands: Kevin Obanor's decision to transfer to Texas Tech was last-second

"Time definitely wasn't on my side," Obanor said. "I just finished my workout with Philly and I had to stay the night to figure out what would be the best move for me. ... We ended up making the decision to do another year."

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams on Kevin Obanor

Head Coach Mark Adams says Obanor has embraced his coaching style.

"He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be challenged," Adams said. It’s always tough when you’re being criticized but I’m confident that he understands why we are doing it.”

The first-year head coach of the Raiders also praised Obanor's team-first mentality.

"He put his ego aside and has done a remarkable job of putting the team first and doing everything possible to help us win.”

Kevin Obanor on his Red Raiders teammates

During the Big 12 Conference tournament, Obanor echoed selfless approach that his teammates take.

"We have a lot of veterans on our team, and we know during the postseason that it's not all about who scores. We just want to win, and we have a lot of selfless people that just want to play basketball and want to leave Texas Tech better than they found it."