Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Chance McMillian is quietly a ridiculously efficient player and he had to show up and help carry the scoring load, which he did. McMillian led the team with 22 points, had 5 boards, an assist 2 steals, and no turnovers.
The Motion:
- The final spread was Texas Tech -13.5 and to win by 14 without arguably your best player, or at the very least, higher scorer, is quite the feat. Head coach Grant McCasland tightened up the rotations and he played just 7 player for the most part and pulled off a win. That’s really impressive in my opinion.
- DePaul started slow then they absolutely heated up offensively, making 48% of their shots and 43% of 3-point shots, but that number fell to just 36% and 14% in the second half. DePaul just appeared off a bit and they simply couldn’t get of clean shots in the second half because the defensive rotations were better. It was nice to see that defensive improvement in the second half and it was nice to see that type of defensive effort.
- McMillian and Darrion Williams were the only two players in double-figures, Williams scored 20 on 8 of 15, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers. In the second half, and late, he scored 11, as did McMillian, and that’s over half of your production
- Devan Cambridge is out again and I’m not one to speculate, I do think it is interesting that it coincides with the end of the semester, perhaps that is just a coincidence, but it’s a bit weird. After the game McCasland said that he loves him and that he appreciates him.
- Texas Tech had statistical advantages in points off of turnovers, 21 to 10, and also points in the paint, 36 to 24. DePaul had much more firepower off the bench, 39 to 21.
- Without JT Toppin, Federiko Federiko started in the middle and played 31 minutes when he normally doesn’t do that and did well, 8 points, 5 boards, and 1 steal. McCasland really didn’t play another post player and basically played a 4-guard offense for the most part with Eemeli Yalaho only playing 9 minutes.
- Elijah Hawkins didn’t shoot the ball very well, just 1 of 5, but he did have 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and caused issues on defense.
- Advanced stats say that McMillian was the best player at +14.4, then Hawkins at +11.0, Williams at +9.6, and Walton at +4.0 with Anderson at -2.3, Federiko at -0.5 and Overton at -0.0. Advanced stats are weird sometimes, but I still find them interesting.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “Our guys were really tremendous in the second half. To hold them to two 3s after they had nine at half, I thought our team played with great effort there. We weren’t settling and got to the paint and the free-throw line on offense. Those two things were huge for us. You could tell this game meant a lot to Chance McMillian. He knew we were a little shorthanded and his ability to guard and have composure really separated us.”
- Up next? Texas Tech basketball will be in Ft. Worth at Dickies Arena to fac the Texas A&M Aggies. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m. and game is on ESPN2.
Highlights