Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: I’m going with Elijah Hawkins here, even though he didn’t shoot well at all, 2 of 10 and 2 of 7 from deep, he finished with 14 points, made 8 of 9 free throws, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover.
The Motion:
- Without Chance McMillian and Darrion Williams there wasn’t much of a chance for this game to be close, but it was for 99% of the game. That’s not a loss to be embarrassed or ashamed about. The offense just doesn’t click without additional threats and down two starters is a problem. After the game, Kelvin Sampson said that this win had an asterisk to it for him, but McCasland dismissed that. I might get skewered for this, but I like Sampson a lot, he’s been through a lot as a head coach and think he does a heck of a job putting together a roster. His teams play tough and so does Texas Tech’s, I have a lot of respect for Houston. I loved seeing Patrick Mahomes back, he’s such a fan of Texas Tech and that’s absolutely relatable and terrific at the same time.
- In fact, I’d say it was amazing that Texas Tech was even in this game given the shooting percentages. Texas Tech shot 33% in the 1st half and 27% in the 2nd, while shooting 20% from deep in both halves. Houston didn’t shoot that bad at all, 45% overall and 50% from deep. The fact that this was just an 8-point game is saying something.
- Neither Christian Anderson or Elijah Hawkins were good offensively. Anderson could not get a good look at all and it was difficult for him to get a clean look for the entire game. He was just 2 of 11 and some ill-advised 3’s, 0-6 overall. Hawkins was slightly better, 2 of 10 and 2 of 7 from deep.
- If you had asked me after the game I would have told you that Houston won the offensive board battle and the 2nd chance point battle. Neither of those things were true. Texas Tech out-rebounded Houston 40-33, had more offensive boards, 17-10, and more 2nd chance points, 12-10. It felt like Houston hit a handful of 3’s on 2nd chance points, but that’s probably just selective memory.
- Houston had 26 points in the paint to just 16 for Texas Tech. It felt like JT Toppin had some buckets just fall out of the basket after being halfway down. It also felt like Roberts picks up his pivot foot a lot when he’s maneuvering in the post and I’d like for that to be called at some point.
- This was another game that I thought there were too many fouls, Houston shot 23 free throws and Texas Tech shot 26. I didn’t like the way this one was called either, but it wasn’t lopsided like the TCU game. Both teams had 18 personal fouls.
- McCasland said that Williams was more of a game-time decision and McMillian was not. Williams’ situation happened yesterday or today and McCasland wasn’t aware of it. I am not sure how to read that, but if you want to listen to to the question and answer at the 14:30 mark of the press conference. He says he doesn’t make decisions about who plays and every situation is unique. Everyone has their own version about what they can go through, he trusts the trainer and the guys and it’s not clear about when a player should play and it is a difficult decision.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “We didn’t execute everything we wanted to do, the game plan was in the right place, but man did they fight and compete. We turned the ball over in times when we had some opportunities but got to the free-throw line 26 times and put ourselves in a position to win a game. It wasn’t good enough. I said that to the team in the locker room. This is not ok, but for the competitiveness and fight for the guys who played in this game. That’s what it looks like. The result wasn’t right but the competitiveness was. I’m hopeful we get another opportunity to play them.”
- Advanced stats had Hawkins at +14.7, Federiko +9.4, Overton +4.0, Toppin +3.2, and Walton +2.1. Anderson was the only negative at -2.9.
- Up next? Texas Tech is in Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, March 1st, with tip-off at 1:00 p.m. and no decision on the network just yet.
Highlights