Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Kevin Overton hasn’t received this much this year. He had 20 points on 7 of 14, 4 of 7 from deep, 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers for the night.
The Motion:
- Another game I didn’t get to see. Yo had a basketball game last night, he hurt his knee and I wasn’t in the mood. I think his knee is fine, but we wanted to give it a night to figure out what to do. This was a game that didn’t have Chance McMillian and Darrion Williams, with Williams in a boot. So much of what happens going forward is dependent upon the health of those two in addition to the rest of the team. After the game, McCasland said that he was confident that they will be back for the NCAA Tournament. Fingers crossed.
- This wasn’t an offensive problem, this was a defensive problem. Arizona scored 1.323 points per possession, which is a ton. Arizona also hit 50% of their 3-point shots, which normally doesn’t happen. That’s actually quite an outlier and not normal for them, including Love going 5 of 8 from deep. If that doesn’t happen (if’s and but’s) then I think this is a different game.
- Arizona’s depth was also an issue, they scored 32 points off the bench and Texas Tech essentially had 6 players available with Leon Horner getting 8 minutes having not played really most of the year. I think that extra bit of energy and depth certainly helped.
- It also did not help that Texas Tech was 19 of 30 from the free throw line, 63%. Just hitting the year average of 76% changes things a little bit, you make 23 free throws rather than 19.
- The fact that this game wasn’t over when it started is a testament to the toughness of this team. Statistically, this game wasn’t over until there were 6 seconds remaining in the game and Anderson missed a 3-point shot. That’s how hard they fought
- I haven’t even mentioned that JT Toppin wasn’t his normal self. Apparently he drank too much water to be hydrated and got sick so he’s fine, but he still wasn’t his normal self, going just 4 of 13 from the floor with just 6 rebounds. I am guessing that Arizona’s length affected things a bit
- Christian Anderson was terrific offensively, making 6 of 12, 2 of 6 from deep, 2 boards, 2 assists and 1 turnover. Elijah Hawkins had a tough night shooting the ball, just 3 of 12 for the night, but did have 6 boards and 5 assists. Kerwin Walton did more than just shoot 3’s, which is a good sign to see something more from him.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “I thought we had great stretches. I told them in the locker room, this is not where it ends. That’s the beauty of what we’ve done this season. This is just the beginning of another season for us that we are excited to be a part of.”
- Advanced stats say that Overton was +13.9, Federiko was +6.9, Anderson was +3.9, Walton was +3.3, and Toppin was +1.1. Hawkins was the only negative at -3.8.
- Up next? We find out Sunday. The get-together at the United Supermarkets Arena was canceled so you’ll have to sit at home or your local watering hole to watch. T-Rank thinks that Texas Tech is the first 3 seed, right ahead of Arizona and that’s probably where they will end up, a 3 seed.
Highlights