From Inside the Red Raiders
- Nobody on Texas Tech’s side will be thrilled with a 51-44 victory over Abilene Christian. Simply put, more is expected from this Texas Tech team, especially on the offensive end. There are, however, two mitigating factors.
First, Tech was down two starters—Kevin McCullar, who has yet to play this season, and Terrence Shannon, who is nursing a bum ankle and presumably will return to action very soon. With McCullar and Shannon in the lineup, the Red Raiders are a significantly better team.
Second, Abilene Christian is the real deal, especially on defense. As Chris Beard said in pregame remarks about the Wildcats, ACU clogs the paint and chokes off penetration, and they swarm the ball. In short, Tech’s guards were not quick enough to get into the paint against the Wildcats and they didn’t handle double teams well at all. ACU’s defensive gameplan worked to perfection because its personnel are talented defenders who executed the gameplan. The Wildcats will win the Southland Conference championship going away, and could even win a game in the NCAA tournament.
Having said that, the Red Raiders did an atrocious job of finishing when they did get looks in the paint. Texas Tech was so timid you’d think they were facing Patrick Ewing, Rick Mahorn and Anthony Mason, instead of what ACU had on offer. The Red Raiders will have to play more authoritatively and confidently inside once Big 12 play starts or they will face tough sledding.
- For some time now I have been saying that this Texas Tech team is in trouble when Mac McClung isn’t hitting shots and facilitating, and tonight’s game validated that assessment in spades. McClung scored only eight points on 1-of-11 shooting, and handed out only two assists. Other coaches will notice this weakness, if they haven’t already, and will scheme to take McClung out of the game. Tech’s coaches had better get this one figured out or the Red Raiders will be scoring in the 50s an awful lot, and even the team’s stupendous defense won’t be enough to pull their fat out of the fire on the majority of those occasions.
- Although this game was too close for comfort, it probably didn’t have to be. In the final seven minutes of the first half the Red Raiders had the chance to blow this game open, but failed to do so. There were two critical plays.
First, with Texas Tech leading by a dozen, Kyler Edwards, who otherwise had a good game, missed an open triple. Had he hit that shot the Red Raiders would have gone up by 15 and Joe Golding would have been forced to call a timeout.
The second opportunity came with 4:35 remaining in the half. Tech was up by 14 when Edwards got a steal but blew a layup on the other end. A sixteen-point lead could have been a backbreaker in a defensive struggle such as this, but instead the Wildcats went on a run late in the half and pared a 15-point deficit to only nine. From that point on the Red Raiders were in a rock fight.
- ACU made this game ugly and it almost got them the win. They clearly preferred to foul and force Tech to earn its dinero from the stripe rather than to allow them to shoot semi-open shots. To wit, they fouled 31 times and Texas Tech shot 37 free throws. The Red Raiders shot their free throws just well enough to win the game, but ACU’s strategy was still effective in that it prevented Texas Tech from establishing any semblance of offensive rhythm or flow. Hitting free throws with the clock stopped is hardly the same thing as scoring in the natural progression of the game. The former provides no particular energy or confidence, while the latter does just that. You’ve got to commend ACU’s strategy and their commitment to it.
- Ultimately Texas Tech won this game by forcing turnovers down the stretch. With 1:50 remaining the Red Raiders held a precarious three-point lead. It was a one-possession game. However, Tech forced three turnovers in ACU’s final four possessions, and the Wildcats, therefore, were unable to make up the stagger.
