Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Kerwin Walton. Thank you. Season saver for sure. Walton was 8 of 19, all 19 shots were from deep, had 27 points, and literally kept Texas Tech in this game.
The Motion:
- Too close. Way too close. If I am being fair, Texas Tech was expected to win by 14.5 and they were without a starter who averages 14 a game. So I’m being kind, but I’m not overly pleased with the outcome. UNCW was 10 of 16 on layups in the 1st half plus they had 7 offensive boards, which led to 8 2nd chance points. If it were not for their turnovers, 9 for the 1st half alone, they would have led going in to halftime pretty easily.
- Defensively, things got better for Texas Tech. They decided to limit UNCW to just 4 offensive rebounds and they allowed just 39% from the field and 23% from deep. The one thing that kep them in the game was 9 of 10 from the line.
- Texas Tech really didn’t’ have a very good offensive game overall. They shot 35% from the field in the 1st half and 31% from deep. They had 6 turnovers and had they not had 10 offensive boards leading to 13 2nd chance points, then it would have been pretty ugly. They turned things around a bit in the 2nd half, just 1 turnover in the 2nd half to 11 assists and make 44% of their shots and 25% from deep. Texas Tech hits the spread if they make their free throws, 11 of 18.
- That 5 of 20 in the 2nd half was Walton going 3 of 9, but Anderson was 1 of 4 and Hawkins was 1 of 6. That’s the game that they play, shoot the 3, but it wasn’t falling for everyone not named Walton and even he struggled a bit in the 2nd half.
- I would like to commend Toppin and Williams because they did do some damage inside in the 2nd half and I think that’s the reason Texas Tech was able to win by 10. Toppin was 4 of 4 in the 2nd half and he sort of wore UNCW down and Williams finally was able to find some space and get some easy shots. Williams shot just 1 3 in the 2nd half.
- Christian Anderson also showed up in the 2nd half and it was driving and getting tough buckets that was the key. I know he has a green light, but he’s really good inside the arc too and if it’s not falling from deep, as he was just 1 for 8, he can look inside.
- Elijah Hawkins had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and just 2 turnovers. He couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, but he sure as heck found Walton on a handful of those 3’s.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “We went into it knowing that they would compete on every possession, and they outrebounded us. They got 11 offensive rebounds. We thought that was going to be a huge one. I did feel like our fight when the game got close was awesome. Just the collective grit, all the Red Raiders in Wichita, it felt like a home game at times just with the belief behind us and the energy in the building. E with 10 assists, we only had seven turnovers, Kerwin making eight 3’s and his consistency and approach every day is unbelievable. It’s to his credit that he has a game like this because he never takes a day off.”
- Advanced stats have Walton at +14.7, Toppin at +10.6, Hawkins +5.4, Federiko +11.2 (in limited minutes), and Overton +1.7. Anderson was -2.8 and Williams -2.3.
- Up next? Saturday, March 22nd, Texas Tech will face the Drake Bulldogs, who lost 3 games all year. Game will be on TNT and tip-off at 5:10 p.m.
Highlights
The man of the hour 🩺 pic.twitter.com/OxruIEb8HA
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 21, 2025