This was a weird game. Savannah State isn’t very good at basketball and their philosophy of just jacking up shots no matter where doesn’t seem real solid, but they have almost no size so maybe this is the smart play, but man, they’re a tough team to watch.
Jarrett Culver and Niem Stevenson both led the team with 18 points. Stevenson made 6 of 11, including 2 of 3 and pulled in 4 rebounds. Culver’s day may have been more impressive because he made 7 of 14, but he also had 4 boards, 2 steals and 7, yes 7 assists with no turnovers.
This team is absolutely rollling. They made 53% of their shots and 81% of their free throws, while out-rebounding Savannah State by 20 or so. Texas Tech only had 11 turnovers compared to 30 assists.
Last year, if Keenan Evans didn’t show up, this team would struggle and he went 0-8 yesterday and went scoreless. He did grab 5 roards, and he also dished out 7 assists with no turnovers, while blocking a shot and nabbing 2 steals.
We keep saying that Zach Smith keeps filling up the box score, but those stats that I just listed are players filling up the stat sheet and finding ways to contribute and they are mostly doing this with no one playing more than 20 minutes a game.
Zhaire Smith is really spectacular in terms of how he plays as well, he’s so above the rim that it’s ridiculous. All he does is dunk. He’s playing the high post when SSU went into a zone and I’d watch out for that as the year rolls on. Zhaire finished with 17 points on 7 of 8 from the floor, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 5 assists, 1 turnover and 1 block. Maybe 6 of his makes were dunks and they were all spectacular.
The other player in double-figures was Brandone Francis, who finished with 10 points on a very efficient 4 of 6 including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Seton Hall is up next on Thursday, in Madison Square Garden and I’m all but sure that whoever is announcing this game is going to be impressed and surprised at Texas Tech’s athleticism. Seton Hall did get a nice win against Vanderbilt at home by 13 points and had lost to Rhode Island. This will be the best non-conference game of the Texas Tech schedule. It should also be noted that Seton Hall has Louisville after the Texas Tech game.
