Well, this is just gravy. I loved watching this team and there were so many things that this team did well on a night that they weren't expected to win. Some quick thoughts: Pat Knight is human, in a good way, the guy is going to live and breathe Texas Tech as long as he is the coach here and I'm going to love him for that . . . the look on RMK's face said it all, he could not have been more proud of his son . . . the technical on Beasley was a bad call, Beasley didn't even see Prince . . . God gave Bill Walker the ability to put the ball in the bucket, but he does lack some basketball sense.
One other thing to think about. Right now, do you think that the fans of Indiana would trade Kelvin Sampson for Pat Knight right now, despite the disparity in resumes? If I were a fan of Indiana, I would in a heart-beat.
No official boxscore tonight, but hopefully it will be posted in the morning.
| Player | Comment |
| Alan Voskuil | An absolutely incredible game. There's no doubt that PK told Voskuil just to shoot the effing ball. 30 points on 14 shots and 6 boards is a tremendous night. |
| Martin Zeno | The TV crew mentioned early that Zeno had the flu and wasn't quite himself. For me, he was productive because he got to the line and he took shots within 10 feet of the bucket. A nice game from Zeno. |
| John Roberson | Seemed like a very uneven game. Made a couple of early buckets and really disappeared through a good stretch of the game. Free throws . . . |
| Mike Singletary | Got into foul trouble guarding Walker, but I thought he held his own, but the guy can score. 11 point and 4 boards is a nice night for Singletary. |
| Trevor Cook | Perhaps the most inconsistent player for Texas Tech. Can look like $1 million, but couldn't even put a body on a man against Nebraska. Loved his dunk at the end of the game. 8 points for the night. |
| Esmir Rizvic | Annoyingly nice game from Rizvic, and I mean that in a good way. Setting screens and wreaking havoc on defense is what he needs to focus on doing every game. |
| Michael Prince | I thought his defense and hustle was an important aspect of the game. I tend to forget about him, but he has utility on this team and needs to play more. Not only that, he is the ultimate cheerleader on this team, which, again, is a good thing. |
| Charlie Burgess | Quiet night and minimal minutes. |
What Texas Tech Did Right:
- He Did It His Way: He really did. PK was his own man tonight. After the game he mentioned that he watched an old Jim Boeheim instructional video on running the 2-3 zone and played it for a good part of the last part of the second half. I thought that PK also did a nice job of telling his players to go ahead and run a little bit, which worked so well in the first half. Buckets are hard to come by for this team and getting out on the break and creating some easy opportunities for players, even if it's a part of the secondary break, creates so much less of a burden on the team as a whole to produce offensively.
- Voskuil is a Threat: What a difference a coach can make. It seemed like during RMK's tenure that Voskuil seemed tentative and continually passed up open shots. Well with PK at the helm I'm pretty sure that this conversation happened as some point during the last week: PK - shoot the effing ball more; Voskuil - okay. And history was made. Voskuil realized that he is an offensive threat and he was the difference in the game. Finally, the Red Raiders had someone who could go bucket for bucket with the opponents' best player.
- The Front Court Played Some Defense: I give the frontcourt quite a bit of grief during the year, mostly because of non-production. Tonight, as a group (Suljagic, Rizvic, Prince, and Cook) they did enough. Their defense on Beasley was outstanding. They pestered the best player in the nation and made him work for his points. For the night, the group finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Not exactly something to write home about, but it was the constant pressure that made them really good today.
What Texas Tech Did Wrong:
- Free Throws: At one point I thought it was going to cost Texas Tech the game. The percentage doesn't seem all that bad, 69%, but it was the timing. At the end of the game, it just felt like there were too many misses. Rizvic missed a couple and Roberson missed half of his free throws. I'm sure Roberson knows this, but playing point guard means that he cannot allow himself to miss free throws during the last 5 minutes.
- Still No Rebounding: Although the difference wasn't all that great, Texas Tech did get out-rebounded, yet again. K-State only had a 6 rebound advantage (26-33), but in order to steal one on the road, the Red Raiders have got to figure out a way to get a rebounding advantage on an opponent. K-State had 12 offensive rebounds and that's way too many second and third opportunities.
Up Next: Oklahoma @ Texas Tech, Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. (Television - ESPN Plus).