Don't celebrate too much. As it was pointed out this morning, Louisiana Tech was a horrible offensive team. Yes, they were the 326th most efficient offensive team in the nation, so, at least for me, a completely dominating game was expected and it's not a surprise. I'll admit, holding a team to under 40 points is certainly impressive, but as good as this team has been defensively this year, it's not surprising.
| Player | Comment |
| Martin Zeno | Another quiet but outstanding game from Zeno. Didn't need to do too much. |
| Alan Voskuil | Didn't shoot 70%, but contributes in other ways, especially on the defensive end. |
| Mike Singletary | Started and played well. Showed a nice outside shot and, again, solid defense. |
| D'Walyn Roberts | Had two (I think) highlight dunks and appears to be the player, other than Zeno, who can play above the rim. |
| John Roberson | Very efficient and in control of the offense. Like the high number of assists. |
| Esmir Rizvic | Got the start, looked a little lost at first, but the effort was there the entire time he was on the floor. |
| Michael Prince | Actually takes some shots and makes them. Prince should consider doing this more often. |
| Ricardo De Bem | Displayed nice outside shot and believe that he will get the minutes behind Rizvic. |
| Charlie Burgess | Seemed like just the right amount of Burgess as he came off the bench, looked to score and play defense. |
| Rogdrick Craig | Would still like to see Craig get a few more minutes and think he could be valuable to this club as a 4th guard. |
| Tyler Hoffmeister | Saving the best for last - Hoff scored his 2nd bucket of his career. Congrats. |
What Texas Tech Did Right:
- Defense Was The Key: There isn't any doubt that if this team is going to be competitive in the Big 12 then they have to be good defensively. La. Tech was/is bad offensively, but the Red Raiders were good defensively also. The Bulldogs only made 27% of their shots for the night.
- Left the Pedal Down: I don't know if this is a fair assessment, but I thought Pat Knight may have learned a lesson tonight. Although I think Pat is going to make a fine coach, I do believe that RMK displayed that you cannot let up on an opponent either. Pat Knight noted after the game that the players let up somewhat, but I think it's important to note that the coaches can't let up either and RMK didn't do that tonight.
- Roberson Ran the Show: I thought Roberson looked much better tonight. A nice amount of assists and scoring to boot.
- Return of Rizvic: It's not that I thought that Rizvic looked great on the court, but I thought that he did a decent enough job of changing shots and was looking to score around the bucket. That's two things that this team has lacked recently. Rizvic's motor was constantly going as he played most of the first half and I think that Knight, although he wasn't perfect, liked the continuous effort without mental mistakes.
What Texas Tech Did Wrong: Because it's a long break to the next game (10 days) and tonight's game was a joke, let's figure out what Texas Tech can work on in the interim.
- Continue the Frontcourt Rotation: Rizvic really did look good, but the staff needs to continue to fine tune the frontcourt rotation. I'd still like to see Roberts, Prince and De Bem work in the rotation. I can't figure out what Cook did to not even play, but I still think he can be a contributor.
- Voskuil Continues to Shoot: Here's the offensive assignment for the week, continue to figure out how to get Voskuil open so he can be a threat. Voskuil shooting the ball will create more opportunities for the entire team.
- Burgess Off the Bench: I am more and more convinced that Burgess can and is a valuable asset off the bench and he seems to work well in that situation. I also like Burgess in the role where Roberson is also in the game and allows Burgess to "free-form" a little bit. Score a little bit, create for his teammates, etc. This keeps Burgess from having to worry about making sure the rest of the team is all on the same page.
Up Next: Texas Tech @ New Mexico, December 15, 2007 at 3:00 p.m.