Game Recap: Seton Hall 89, Texas Tech 79

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Game Recap

Player of the Game: Keenan Evans was that guy for me tonight. Evans finished with 21 points, 3 boards, 6 assists, and 3 turnovers on the night. He kept the team in the game in the first half, scoring 12 of his 21 points,

 High Flyer of the Game: There’s going to be a handful of guys that we’ll be able to choose from, but tonight I’ll go with Zhaire Smith, who was is seemingly above the rim for most of his plays.

 Defender of the Game: I loved what Norense Odiase did in just 16 minutes. If it weren’t for Norense, Texas Tech would have gotten killed on the boards as Odiase on his own collected 12 boards in 16 minutes. That’s tenacity. Love seeing Odiase get back to what he’s so good at doing.

 Multi-Purpose Player of the Game: Niem Stevenson was asked to do a lot, and he ended up with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 turnovers in his 26 minutes.

 Game Notes:

  • This really was one of those games where Seton Hall was just a better scoring team. I was really impressed with what they did and I was really impressed with how good they were on offense. A lot of times, that’s what happens when you play at home, but their starting five is really terrific, they hardly played their bench at all.
  • I thought we saw Texas Tech’s biggest weakness, which is the middle. I thought that inside, we just didn’t have the horses to keep pace with Seton Hall. They had some big kids, much bigger than Texas Tech’s freshmen. Those freshmen will eventually gain weight, but they’re not there yet. I mentioned Odiase playing a terrific defensive game, but Tommy Hamilton played just 10 minutes and didn’t score and only grabbed 4 rebounds. Hamilton is a weird fit. He’s not a great defender and he’s not a presence inside. This is going to be a problem for Texas Tech as the season progresses.
  • I think the defense can clean some things up, particuarly on getting out and coving those jumpshots. Seton Hall was 11 of 20 from the three-point line and that’s got to be better. That was one of Texas Tech’s biggest problems last year, defending beyond the arc, and that’s one of those things that I think can improve with better athletes and I think Texas Tech has this.
  • Some of the veterans that I wouldn’t have thought would have shrinked a bit did not perform up to expectations. Justin gray and Brandone Francis didn’t contribute much at all in their 27 minutes. Only 2 points and 3 boards between them.
  • Jarrett Culver continues to impress, especially from beyond the three-point line. Culver was 5-7 and he scored 17 points, second on the team in scoring. Culver has been a really nice surprise from beyond the arc.
  • Texas Tech should have tried to get to the line a bit more. Yes, you could blame the refs, but the team should also have tried to go to the rack a bit more. Seton Hall shot 26 free throws to Texas Tech’s 16.
  • Seton Hall is a tournament team and I think that Texas Tech is too. This isn’t a bad loss by any means, even though the final score ended up with a margin of 10 for Seton Hall. I think Texas Tech is going to bounce back because the talent is there.

Up Next: vs. Nevada @ United Supermarkets Arena on Tuesday, December 5th

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