Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: JT Toppin put up an amazing stat line, 10 of 17 from the field, 2 of 2 from deep, 8 of 9 from the line, 14 boards, an assist, a block, a steal, and a turnover.
The Motion:
- I didn’t get to see this one at all. Track meet. To not waste this first bullet point, the spread was 17 when I left the house this morning the line was Texas Tech -17.5 and this was a 16-point win for Texas Tech.
- Texas Tech shot the heck out of the ball, making 50% of their field goals, but 59% from deep in the first half, slowing down a bit, making 47% in the second half from the field and 38% from deep. As a whole, this team shot 33 3-point shots, so they just sort of realized they were going to shoot and make it happen.
- Colorado actually shot lights out int he 2nd half, 16 of 27, so it’s pretty amazing that Texas Tech was able to win by 16, but the problem is that Colorado can’t make 3-point shots, just 1 of 7 in the 2nd half. They couldn’t make up a ton of the margin.
- Colorado actually scored 34 points in the paint, to just 30 for Texas Tech. Both teams had 32 boards and Texas Tech really excelled running the break, 18 to 8 and points off of turnovers, 16 to 9.
- I would be more than happy for Kerwin Walton to get hot for the stretch. He scored 12 on 4 of 8, all 8 shots were from deep.
- Christian Anderson is really good and there aren’t a ton of superlatives left to say about Anderson. He scored 12 on 4 of 11, 3 of 7 from deep, 4 assists and no turnovers. He’s amazing overall and even moreso for a freshman.
- Not having to play Chance McMillian for 40 minutes is a blessing and he scored 15 on just 8 shots, played just 25 minutes and was able to rest a bit.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “This arena is amazing. Our students were unreal. I never want to take it for granted and am so thankful to be a part of this. For our guys to have that atmosphere at home is awesome. Our team shared the ball well and didn’t turn it over and put ourselves in position to win the game.”
- Advanced stats have Toppin at +15.0, McMillian at +14.6, Anderson at +8.4, Walton at +7.0, Federiko at +3.2 and Williams at +0.9. Of all things, Overton was -0.6 and Hawkins was -0.3.
- Up next? Texas Tech hits the road to race Arizona State on Saturday, March 8th, with tip-off at 7:00 p.m. and the game on ESPNU.
Highlights