Still no official boxscore. I'm starting to think that the official stat guy at Texas Tech gets depressed after losses and just figures that he'll get to them the next day. I feel the same way.
| Player | Comment |
| Mike Singletary | A tough game for Singletary who seemed to struggle to get good shots and found himself on the outside more than inside. Not a bad game, but not what we've grown to expect from Singletary. |
| Esmir Rizvic | Efficient from the field, but has to make his free throws. They are a killer. Defensively Rizvic plays hard, but he's not blocking out. |
| Martin Zeno | Another good game from Zeno, but his missed free throws were also the most disappointing part of his game. Carried this team early. |
| Alan Voskuil | OU played tight coverage on Voskuil all day, but it's the process of figuring out how to score when the opponent does play that way that's going to be tough for Voskuil and his teammates. |
| John Roberson | Best part about his game yesterday was his 7 assists and 3 TO's. Looked really good running the break, but still struggles getting this offense to score in the zone. Not necessarily his fault, but as the guy in charge, he needs to be help with the solution. |
| Rogdrick Craig | Minimal minutes, but should get more playing time next year with Zeno graduated. |
| D'Walyn Roberts | Tough game for the freshman, but I'd rather see him take his lumps this year and hope he puts on some weight and steps up his game for next year. Certainly has the talent and athleticism to play for Texas Tech. |
| Trevor Cook | Minimal minutes, although I did like the hard fouls. No freebies. |
| Damir Suljagic | Some days you get yesterday's game, but then against other teams he disappears. Suljagic plays better when he is aggressive offensively. |
| Charlie Burgess | His 3-pointer was big, but because he's not a threat to score, it's difficult to justify him being on the floor. |
What Texas Tech Did Right:
- Interior Defense: Rizvic and Suljagic have figured out, for the most part, how to play guys inside. Rizvic seems to have the unique ability of pushing the limits with defense and mentally frustrating opponents all at the same time. That's two games in a row where this Red Raider frontcourt has frustrated two future first round picks.
- Zeno Down Low: Zeno did a nice job of getting inside for his most of his buckets. He is typically so much more athletic that the guy that guards him that he's able to get of good shots in and around the paint. It would be nice if PK could figure out how to get Zeno the ball around the free throw line when the opponent plays zone, but Zeno's ball-handling skills are usually something that causes concern and in traffic, leads to turnovers.
- Played Roberts: Roberts didn't have a good game by any stretch of the imagination yesterday. He lost his man defensively which resulted in a couple of buckets for OU. However, PK sees the potential in Roberts and I think it's wise to make sure that PK gets Roberts into games, this year. Minutes this year will lead to a more productive player next year. Roberts is talented and athletic and will play quite a bit next year. If he can add a little weight to go along with his long frame then I think Roberts has the potential to be a good player for Texas Tech.
What Texas Tech Did Wrong:
- 16 Offensive Rebounds: So the defense is good, but the blocking out and rebounding is certainly something left to be desired. 16 offensive rebounds is simply unacceptable, and as most of you know, those offensive rebounds usually turn into easy scoring opportunities. This has to remedied. I know that Texas Tech tends to get killed on the boards, but
- Struggles Against the Zone: It's so tough to watch this team play against the zone. It wouldn't surprise me to see a zone defense from every opponent from this point forward. I don't know if the answer is getting in another guy who can knock down a 3-pointer or an inside presence who can create double-teams to open up the outside. The problem with both solutions is that I don't think either player is on this roster. The best shooters on this team are Voskuil and Roberson and there's really not a player who can be backside once the ball is swung to his side to shoot the three. Additionally, I think that Tech's best post player is Singletary and he's too undersized to take advantage of an opponent when they are playing a zone. It would be nice if Burgess was that guy, but I just don't think that's going to happen.
- Offensive Purpose, Again: I've mentioned this before, and some of this relates to what I wrote above, but when an opponent does play a zone defense I think it's imperative that Roberson round up the troops and get these guys in position to score. I'm not sure that this offense lends itself to setting up players or plays, but perhaps it's time to consider that until this team gets another shooter to knock down an outside shot.
Up Next: Texas Tech @ Colorado, Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. (Television - TTTN).