Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: JT Toppin scored 26 points on 10 of 19, 2 of 3 from deep, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, and 2 turnovers.
The Motion:
- Another game that I didn’t see a second of due to Yo’s basketball practice, but it appears to be a game of two halves and barely hung on. McCasland said after the game that the the zone in the second half changed the complexion of the game.
- And it was a game of two halves. Texas Tech made 58% of their field goals in the first half including 63% from deep and in the second half, 19% and 20% respectively. Texas Tech making 3-point shots was what saved this game, 15 of 34 for the game, but it was 12 of 19 that did it in the 1st half.
- Chance McMillian only played 13 minutes due to an upper body injury? I hate that i missed what happened, but McCasland said after the game that McMillian said that he could go, but that he always says that he could go. He said that he wanted to feel better for the night no matter what happened.
- Baylor’s inability to hit shots from beyond the arc is what hurt them, just 4 of 16 overall.
- The scoring drought in the 2nd half was something. Toppin made a layup with 7:26 remaining was the last bucket with the remaining points being free throws and made 9 of 11 free throws to essentially save the game.
- Baylor absolutely dominated the paint, 44 to 18, which is mind-boggling to an extent, but speaks to Texas Tech making all of them 3’s. Surprisingly, Texas Tech won the rebounding battle, 40-38, and it was really a rebounding battle between Toppin and Omier for Baylor.
- A couple of notes: Elijah Hawkins scored 12 points on 3 of 6, but an astounding 11 assists with just 3 turnovers; Darrion Williams scored 14 with 8 boards; and Kerwin Walton had 12 on 4 of 9 with every shot being from deep. Christian Anderson didn’t really get going at all, just 2 of 5, all from deep, and scoring just 6 points.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “Tournament time, honestly, you don’t get pretty points for winning, you just win and find a way to move on. Give Baylor a lot of credit because I thought their physicality and their zone caused us problems in the second half and we got a little stagnant. But, man, I loved the competitiveness of our team and I loved the fight of our team. That’s kind of what’s carried us throughout this season, and even when we weren’t great offensively. I told them we had enough points at the end of the game when there was about four minutes left. Finding ways to win with our defense is what makes us when we are at our best.”
- Advanced stats had Toppin at +16.9, Hawkins at +11.7, Walton +9.5, Williams +6.4, and Anderson +1.2. Overton was -9.3 and McMillian was -11.7.
- Up next? Texas Tech will play Arizona who dispatched Kansas last night, 88-77, tip-off at 8:30 and the game is on ESPN2.
Highlights