From Inside the Red Raiders
Texas Tech takes on Utah State in the first round of the NCAA tournament at 12:45 p.m. (CT) today at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The Red Raiders (17-10) are the 6-seed in the South region and are making their third consecutive appearance in the tournament.
The Aggies (20-8) are the 11-seed and making their second consecutive appearance in the Big Dance. The following is a list of broadcast info for the game, the spread and over/under for this matchup, plus three keys to victory for Texas Tech.
How to Watch/Radio/Spread
TV: TNT (STREAM LINK)
Radio: Texas Tech Radio Network (tune-in app)
Spread: Texas Tech is favored by 4.0
Over/Under: 131
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Keys to Victory for Texas Tech
Contain Queta
It’s no secret Utah State features a bonafide big man in 7-foot, 245-pound Neemias Queta. The junior center averages 15.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals. Needless to say, the first team All-Mountain West performer is Utah State’s star player and a big reason the Aggies are dancing.
The tallest Red Raider starter is 6-foot-7, 245-pound senior Marcus Santos-Silva, who has spent a lot of time matched up against Big 12 big men which has led to him spending a lot of time on the bench in foul trouble. It’s imperative that Santos-Silva does not pick up any ticky tack fouls, especially early.
Santos-Silva will be spelled by freshman forward Tyreek Smith who is also 6-7, though not as thick. That being said Smith is very long and athletic so his minutes off the bench could prove pivotal. No matter who is tasked with guarding Queta they will need help as Texas Tech coach Chris Beard alluded to earlier this week.
“It’s going to have to be a multi-layered plan and different people on our roster are going to have to contribute to that plan,” Beard said. “It’s not like a thing where we can say, ‘hey Norense (Odiase), go guard him 1-on-1’. That’s not going to happen, so we’re going to have to do some things team-defense wise, change up some looks and just try and do the best we can.
“He’s a fabulous player. He’s deserving of all the attention that he gets. He’s rebounding, scoring, shot blocking and his ability to get assists, pass the ball are special. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. These games you prepare and watch basically every game they played so I felt like I have kind of been a part of their season now. He’s definitely a guy that’s gotten better in their program, is playing his best basketball and a real pro prospect in my opinion.”
No extended scoring droughts
Texas Tech has the ability to be a solid offensive team, but one thing which has consistently held the Red Raiders back all season long has been scoring droughts. Just last game against Texas in the Big 12 tournament Texas Tech squandered leads late in both halves by going scoreless in the final four minutes in each instance leading to the one-point loss to the Longhorns.
The Red Raiders have shown in recent games they are capable of clamping down on opposing teams by playing the trademark defense under Chris Beard which has lifted the program to previously undreamt of heights. If they couple that with at least an efficient offense, meaning converting at the free throw line and finishing around the rim, then Texas Tech should beat Utah State relatively comfortably, but that won’t be easy as the Aggies possess a stingy defense in their own right.
Big dogs gotta eat
This next key really could be listed for however long the Red Raiders keep dancing in the tournament. Chris Beard has a lot of sayings. One of his favorites is that his team is made up of a bunch of street dogs. He literally had several of his players at his press conference to accept the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year, bark at us media members during his acceptance speech.
Another one of his favorite sayings is that in order to advance in the tournament your best three or four players have to play well. In other words, the big dogs have to eat if they want to advance past Utah State or any further. That means Mac McClung, Terrence Shannon, Kevin McCullar and either Kyler Edwards or Marcus Santos-Silva all have to show up ready to play. There can be no empty appearances as we have seen from each of them at least once this season. It wouldn’t hurt if a Micah Peavy, Clarence Nadolny or Tyreek Smith stepped up off the bench as Edwards did during the run to the national title game in 2019.
I talked with several of the key players during and after that run and the stories of Beard challenging them and their responses are the stuff of legend in West Texas. I have no doubt Beard has challenged his current cast of Red Raiders. The question is, how will they respond?
