Game Links
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game
Going to TJ Holyfield yet again, he was in and around the rim and scored 21 points on 8 of 12 from the night, adding 6 rebounds, an assist, 3 blocks, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. Holyfield also made both of his three-point shots and his ability to stretch the floor is very important. The turnovers were maybe the result of a couple of charges that he was called on and some passes he couldn’t finish. Regardless, terrific game.
The Motion
- Kind of a weird and close game, but that’s how these games are supposed to be. Lon Kruger is a terrific coach and I thought that Oklahoma was great defensively. That first half was a slog, just not a ton of possessions and each possession going down to the end of the shot clock almost each and every possession.
- With me praising Oklahoma, Texas Tech also shot 52% from the floor (which is amazing) and shot 56% from the three-point line while limiting Oklahoma to 45% from the floor and 25% from the three-point line. That first half was a half where the team shot 40% from the field and then the biggest reason that Texas Tech was close was that the Red Raiders made 6 of 12 three-pointers. That second half saw the team make 67% from the floor and the only detriment was that the team had 8 turnovers.
- I was very happy to see Kevin McCullar back, he finished with 6 points and a huge three-point shot to end the first half. I just love his energy and versatility on defense. He actually ended up leading the team in rebounding with 7 in just 19 minutes, so despite the concussion, he’s out there mixing it up trying to grab as many boards as possible.
- Also nice to get Kyler Edwards back in the scoring groove, it started out early for Edwards who hit his first shot and he ended up making 7 of 10, including 3 of 4 from the three-point line, 5 boards, 3 assists, a steal and 2 turnovers. When Edwards is hot, this team just does well and his dribble drive with about 2 minutes left was a big play (but need to make that free throw).
- Terence Shannon only scored 1 point in 20 minutes. I don’t think this is anything to worry about, but he’s been a bit quiet the past few games. Ramsey hit a wall a bit earlier this year and maybe Shannon is at that point right now.
- Jahmi’us Ramsey and Davide Moretti each scored in double-figures, Ramsey scored 13 on 5 of 10 from the floor and Moretti scored 11 on 3 of 11 from the floor. On cue, Oklahoma goes to a zone in the second half and Morretti drains a three-pointer. With Ramsey, sometimes I think he tries to do too much offensively by himself. He is the one guy that can dribble and drive to the basket, so I get that aspect of it, but sometimes I think he tries to do a bit much.
- Texas Tech won the rebounding battle 32-25, but didn’t win the normal points in the paint battle, 20-24. The biggest statistical discrepancy was that Texas Tech was just much more efficient offensively Texas Tech should have had a greater scoring margin, making only 11 of 17 free throws (that’s 65%). Oklahoma only shot 6 free throws all night long.
- Chris Clarke could only manage 7 minutes for the game. He tweaked his ankle in the first half, ended up coming back in the second for a minute or two, and then didn’t play the rest of the game.
- Chris Beard on the win tonight:
“It was just a great win for us,” said Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard who earned his 90th victory leading the program. “To finish the first half of Big 12 play against a team that I think is an NCAA tournament team with a Hall of Fame coach is great. Oklahoma is really difficult to play and coach against. I thought our guys stood the test. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs during the course of the game and I thought for the most part we kept our composure and kept fighting.”
- Texas Tech is now 5-4 in the Big 12, while Oklahoma drops to 4-5. Up next is Texas in Austin, who is 4-5 in the Big 12, on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., televised on ESPN2. There’s this log-jam in the middle of the Big 12 that’s about to get sorted out very quickly, so every game becomes incredibly critical.
Highlights