Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: I’m maybe going to go a bit differently here and give this to Elijah Hawkins who scored 10 points on 3 of 5 from the floor, had 11 assists, 4 turnovers, 5 steals, and 3 boards. He was really finding players both in the halfcourt and on the break.
The Motion:
- McCasland admitted after the game that the 3-2 zone gave them a bit of trouble in the first half and that it will be good film to watch. And the zone was tricky for a team that was so good against man defenses, partly because TJ Toppin was a cheat-code that no one could guard one-on-one. This made Texas Tech work and quite simply, the outside shots were not falling. They were open or good looks, but just not falling. And yet, this team still won by 34.
- Also problematic, and brought up post-game, was the issue of the backdoor looks that UAPB got pretty easily and McCasland said that they were trying to force UAPB outside, so that was open, but need to be better at defending. It’s still something to fix and it’s good film to have going into what figures to be a tough game against St. Joe’s. It had been Kit-Kat’s and Nerds Gummy Clusters up until now and there are some things to watch and get better at on the plane ride to NYC.
- For comparison purposes, Texas Tech made 53% of their field goals and just 32% of 3’s in the first half, while in the second half Texas Tech made 68% of their shots and 50% of 3’s. This high-powered offense is good even when it’s not good.
- Statistically, Texas Tech feasted off of turnovers and that was the reason why UAPB couldn’t make it closer in the first half. By the end of the game, UAPB had thrown the ball away 23 times, 12 in the first half and 11 in the second. Texas Tech got a little sloppy in the second half, which is something else to watch. Just 3 turnovers in the first half and 12 in the second.
- Texas Tech also dominated inside, 44 points in the paint to just 28 for the Lions. UAPB was a team that didn’t pass the ball and that continued, just 9 assists to 23 turnovers isn’t good. Texas Tech had 30 assists which seems really high given everything and an indication that they are sharing the ball.
- TJ Toppin had a very quiet 14 points and 11 boards for the night. He didn’t shoot a free throw, which is odd, but that’s fine.
- Darrion Williams might have been the other player of the game, he was feeling it with 19 points on 8 of 11, 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover, and 2 steals.
- Other notables would be chance McMillian not taking bad shots and continuing to affect the game positively, 11 points on 4 of 9, 6 assists, 1 turnover. Kevin Overton helped solve some of the defensive issues with 17 points on 6 of 9, including 3 of 6 from deep. There’s just so many places for this team to score, it’s a really deep group and it was missing Federiko and Yalaho.
- Advanced stats say that the players of the game were Williams and Hawkins with a +16.3 each. Then Overton at +10.2, Anderson +5.9, McMillian at +1.2 and Toppin at +0.1. Walton had a rough go at it, mainly because of some defensive issues, -6.8.
- Up next? Texas Tech faces St. Joseph’s on Thursday as part of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York with tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and then will play the winner of Syracuse or Texas on Friday. That’s a lot of previews and post-games!
Highlights