A really nice win, at home. The next four games are going to be really tough (@ TAMU, UT, @ KU, and BU). No official boxscore yet.
Update [2008-2-23 19:9:32 by Seth C]: Official boxscore.
| Player | Comment |
| Martin Zeno | Another damn fine game from Zeno. Efficient, with a capital "E". Aside from the 23 points and 6, yes that's right, 6 assists, the most impressive state . . . 0 TO's. Great job. |
| Alan Voskuil | Earned his 21 points today. Had a rough 1st half, but persevered and ultimately put the ball in the bucket. He is really working to get open. |
| John Roberson | I was very frustrated with Roberson early. He has to learn that he isn't going to get every call. He needs to have an idea about what he's going to do with the ball when he's in the air. Only 2 TO's, but felt like much more. |
| Mike Singletary | Like Rizvic against CU, Singletary just wasn't going to play with the ISU post players. PK had to either play Singletary or sit Zeno, and the latter wasn't an option. |
| Damir Suljagic | Had a tough matchup today. Still finished with 6 boards and 4 points. Today just wasn't his day. |
| Esmir Rizvic | Came up with two huge defensive plays at the end of the game and his dunk sealed. Missed an early lay-up, but overall had an excellent day. Finished with 6 points and 5 boards. |
| Trevor Cook | Cook can really change the course of a game with his outside shot. Hit 2 3-pointers and had 11 points and 8 huge boards for the day. His jump shots early kept TT in the game. |
| Charlie Burgess | Is a good role player and wasn't able to push the ball, which cuts down on his ability to be effective. |
What Texas Tech Did Right:
- Rebounding: What in the hell is going on? Texas Tech has won the rebounding war 2 games in a row? Although I can't be sure whether or the players and staff have emphasized it, I do think that the players and staff deserve a ton of credit for making sure that their opponents don't beat them on the boards. It is such a huge indicator when it comes to wins and losses for a team and correcting that can pay dividends down the road. Cook, Rizvic and Suljagic are doing a nice job of blocking out and I think that playing zone certainly helps with the rebounding as well.
- Zeno's Heart: I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love watching Martin Zeno play and it's a little bittersweet that this season is coming to a close. This may have been one of Zeno's most impressive games. First off, he appears to injure his leg, but fights through any pain and stays on the court. There were 2 or 3 possessions where Zeno appeared to be jumping off of just 1 leg. The most impressive part of Zeno's game was the fact that he was relentless in attacking the basket and he figured out how to put the ball in the bucket. The absence of TO's is just gravy.
- Lack of TO's: I may be a tad harsh with Roberson's play (I think he needs to have a better idea of what he's going to do with the ball when he's in the air or in the paint) and the TO's, but for the day, the Red Raiders only had 8 TO's to go with 13 assists. Voskuil was the biggest offender with 3, but I think collectively, this group took pretty good care of the ball today.
What Texas Tech Did Wrong:
- Drives to the Bucket: There were a couple of instances where Haluska and the ISU backup point guard were able to get to the rim absolutely untouched. That can't happen against UT and Augustin and it can't happen at TAMU. I liked Rizvic's ability to make that block late to make up for the defense, but someone needs to step up and take a charge or pick up that man.
- Early Missed Free Throws: I'm probably picking here, but the early missed free throws were driving me crazy. Almost as crazy as the ISU female fan who would yell every time a Red Raider shot the ball. Texas Tech ended up shooting 74.1% for the day, but Roberson cannot, I repeat, cannot, miss free throws. He's better than that. I know they weren't important free throws, but Roberson needs to make those.
- Perimeter Defense: This is a small grip, but there were a couple of times that the ISU players were able to get some pretty clean looks from the perimeter. I realized that some of those shots were well beyond the 3-point line, but the Red Raiders are going to have to key on the likes of Carter for TAMU, Abrams and Augustin for UT, and Chalmers and Collins for Kansas. Just get a hand up on them.
Up Next: Texas Tech @ Texas A&M, Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. (Television - ESPN Plus).