Texas Tech 94, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54
* The Flex is a shout-out to Tubby Smith’s flex offense and a place for us to set some screens, make some cuts and discuss the game.
- This was the result I was hoping for, or at least I was thinking should happen. An absolute blowout. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was not a good team coming into this game and Texas Tech sowed they were the superior team winning the game by 40 points. That’s just terrific. And everyone played for Texas Tech with no player playing more than 24 minutes and the two walk-on’s that normally don’t see time, Sorrells and Ham, both played about the last five minutes of the contest. I mentioned before the game that I wanted Texas Tech to dominate because I wanted this team to be focused on an inferior opponent and that’s exactly what the team did. Tubby Smith has this team humming along.
- Texas Tech shot 63% in the first half, which included 5 of 7 from the three-point line, and then shot 68% in the second half. So not only did Texas Tech dominate, but they turned it on in the second half of the game. Another good sign? The Red Raiders shot 72% from the free throw line and went to the line 29 times.
- I’m not sure who to highlight because it was such a balanced effort from the team. All five starters were in double-figures and Ross was the 6th player in double-figures. Zach Smith had 12, Norense Odiase had 12, Devaugntah Williams had 11, Keenan Evans had 10 and Toddrick Gotcher had 11. Scoring 94 points, winning by 40 and not one player scores over 15 says something about the balance of this team and it should also tell us that this team will most likely not rely on one guy, but it’s going to be a total team effort.
- The high post to low post action with Matt Temple and Aaron Ross was fun to watch and part of that combination led to Ross leading the team with 15 points on the day, going 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 5 from the line for 15 points on the night. Ross also had 3 boards and an assist, while Temple had 6 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, a block and a steal for the day. This was the Matt Temple I was hoping for, one that is adept at seeing players in the post in Smith’s high-lo offensive sets and one that has a decent jump shot that he has to be guarded offensively. Temple’s first bucket came off of a fake, then an up-and-under on the defensive player for a nice lay-in. The only thing that Temple has to work on is bodying the offensive player while he’s on defense. He had 4 fouls on the day and the offensive players in the Big 12 will be significantly better than what APB is throwing out there.
- This was maybe the most boring game of the year because it seemed like there was no drama or intrigue from the opening tip. Texas Tech will face 9-0 Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday and they’re a good team that should provide another test. And Arkansas-Little Rock is actually a team that’s similar to Texas Tech in that they are a terrific defensive team. Oh, and the game is at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, not on Tuesday evening, so make sure and set your DVR’s as the game will be on FOX Sports Southwest.
- Jordan Jackson had this monster fastbreak dunk.
HELLO JORDAN JACKSON! #RiseUp #GunsUp pic.twitter.com/jmrU7ECwaQ
— TexasTechHoopsFans (@TTUHoopsFans) December 19, 2015
- Toddrick Gotcher to Zach Smith.
Nice @LeagueME20 pass to @SuperDuperZach for the monster jam #DunkFest pic.twitter.com/hLstmfZW6y
— TexasTechHoopsFans (@TTUHoopsFans) December 19, 2015