Box Score | Post Game Quotes
THE RESULT | A LITTLE SPARK | At the very least, there was some fight tonight, but, as it has been more times than not, there just wasn't enough. Too many mistakes, 20 turnovers, and not enough getting other players involved, 11 assists. The shooting continues to be bad as the team only shot 39% from the floor and the defense continues to give up a ton of points allowing Oklahoma 58% from the floor. The game was close in the first half and it was close during parts of the games, but by the end of the game, even this game was out of reach.
And to answer your question, yes, it's really tough to write about this team, but I sorta have an obligation to do this and so despite the less than stellar results on the court, we're going to finish this thing out.
Head Coach Pat Knight
"These kids haven't quit. We've just have some bad spells of basketball and they played it to the end. The 15 turnovers in the first half really hurt us and we were trying to make a run. We missed two lay-ups, they hit two 3's and they kind of blew it open and we could just never get over the hump. We just play in spurts and we've had that problem all year. When we play badly in spurts we play bad and it's really hurt us."
Storylines after the jump.
THE STORYLINES
Roberts Is Good, But Fouls | I thought the second half starting line-up was interesting: Roberson, Reese, Singletary, Roberts and Crockett. And in the first half and in the second half, when PF D`walyn Roberts actually played, Texas Tech was able to clean up on the boards and I thought the team looked better. That's not to say that Roberts doesn't make mistakes, but interestingly Roberts was the only guy on the positive side of the +/-.
Cannot Buy A Basket | I'm really struggling with some of PG John Roberson's shot selection. There were times that he had to fire up a shot because of the shot-clock, but there were far too many times where he just thought it would be cool to shoot the ball early in the shot-clock and most of his shots were from long range. The problem is that Roberson can't hit the broadside of a barn, making only 6 of 15 shots and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. And as the team's point guard, he had 2 assists and 3 turnovers. Awesome. SF Mike Singletary is in the same funk, took 10 shots and was 3 of 10 from the floor. It absolutely stinks that the two "best" players continue to be the players that struggle the most.
Davis In, Tairu Out | It was nice to see PG Mike Davis return to the floor and I do enjoy watching him play. Davis still can't hit a shot, but he's one of the guys that gives maximum defensive effort. The problem is that as soon as SG David Tairu hit the floor he injured his leg and didn't see the floor for the rest of the game. This team could have used a little more Tairu in this game rather than play Roberson and Davis the minutes that they saw.
Love the Jumping Jack | I really can't remember a player similar to SF Jaye Crockett. Once Crockett figures out what his game is and develops a mid-range jumper and some post moves, he's going to be a handful in the next few years. If you want to focus on the positivity, watch Crockett.
TRADITIONAL MEDIA | LAJ's Courtney Linehan | DMN's Mike Graham | DT's Tommy Magelsson
FOUR FACTORS
Fancy basketball glossary found here.