TRENDING FOR TEXAS TECH
Loss | The Missouri game on Saturday would have been a great win if we could have pulled it off, and we did play the game much better than anyone expected against the then #8 ranked team. We were only down by 4 at the half, but in the second half Missouri came out and stated to pull away pretty easily. An upset win in our last game of the season at home would have been spectacular, but it just wasn’t going that way as nothing really has in the Big 12 games this season. The main reason Missouri just kept gaining on their lead in the second half was they were so hot from the three point line making 12 for 18 in that half it was impossible for us to stay close. This wasn’t the way I had hoped the regular Big 12 season would have gone, but there is still more basketball to be played this year.
Turnovers | I have kept track of the teams turnovers all season, and think that this is the key to seeing how a team is progressing all season. We haven’t progressed. We rank as the #3 team in the country out of 344 teams in most turnovers per game after our regular season at 17.1 per game. We had 15 against Missouri, and while it doesn’t seem like a lot of TO’s for us to commit in a game, the teams that turn the ball over 15 times or more per game rank as #60 and higher in the nation in this category. There are a lot of reasons for this number to be so high, and I do not have the patience to write about every single one. I just know instead of getting better in this category like all the other teams in the country did, we stayed about the same.
Field Goal % | A positive in the Missouri game was our field goal percentage. We made 54.8% of the shots we put up while they hit 50.9% of theirs. Only problem is they took 53 shots, we took 42 and almost half their shots were three pointers (26). We have not been terrible in FG % on the year making 43.8% and being ranked as #153 in the nation in this category, but we also don’t get to many shots off in a game due to our offensive high-low game we run. I guess we just have to get better at creating open shots with our offense.
Defense | I’m guessing by watching the game most people were happy with the way we played defense against Missouri. We did do a good job of the way we normally play in getting on them while not allowing them to dominate inside on us. We played aggressively when they brought the ball close to our basket. The thing is that Missouri figured out was they could swing the ball around the top of the key and drain three balls on us all game in the 2nd half. We need to adjust during gameplay when an opponent keys in on our weakness, and I didn’t think we did a great job at all to shut down our weakness. Get in their face and play full court or half court press to take away the open long ball for them, and make them rush their shots.
Big 12 Tournament |All we can do is impress others if we can knock off Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament this week. Nobody expects anything out of us, except our team and our fans. This is why I love college basketball, you can have 1 win out of 18 games in the conference and you still get a chance to win the conference championship tournament and get to the big dance. I hope we put on a good showing in the tournament. It will be interesting to see what we can do, how we play, and what lineup we keep in most of the games (if we play more than one). Wreck ‘em Tech!
BIG 12 REPORT
Big 12 Tournament Preview
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M | Wednesday, March 7th. Texas A&M has lost 9 of their last 10 games including 5 in a row. They were named preseason co-champion picks for the Big 12 conference but ended up as second to last rank in the conference. Oklahoma has lost 8 of their last 10 games. OU didn’t have high hopes for this season and are #8 ranked in the conference but in the games these 2 teams have met they are really great games to watch. The first game they played against each other it went into OT, and A&M came away with a 6 point victory. Just this last Saturday OU beat A&M by only 3 points. I think this game might come down to the last possession, and I hate to say it but I think A&M takes this one in the end to move on.
Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech| Wednesday, March 7th. Oklahoma State has been consistent in their wins and losses this season in Big 12 play. It seems like they win one then lose a few, but they did beat us in Big 12 play twice this year. The first game by 8, and the second game by 17. There’s no real breakdown on how they beat us, they just are the better team. When I’m put on the spot and no matter how bad I want to get this upset against OSU, I think Texas Tech loses this game by 10 or less.
Baylor vs. Kansas State| Thursday, March 8th. I think this will be another great matchup in this Big 12 tournament. Baylor has the most talent on their team out of any in the Big 12, but the chemistry on this team during game play seems erratic at times if you watch them. They don’t always play together, and that is what is going to kill them in the long run. The first game these two teams played each other K-State only lost by two. K-State is a very good team, but has some bad losses like 2 of them to Oklahoma in conference play. They are one of the teams that knocked off Baylor, the second time they played they beat Baylor by 1 point. While this game will be a win by only a few points in the end, I think Baylor coming off the upset loss to ISU is the best thing that could have happened to them and will beat K-State in this one.
Iowa State vs. Texas| Thursday, March 8th. ISU just coming off that awesome upset off of Baylor last game is just on a roll as of late. I think in the big dance everyone in the tournament should watch out as this will be a Cinderella team of the tournament. They just play hard and tough, and can knock off anyone at any time. Texas on the other hand needs this win to solidify their spot in making the big dance, so they will be playing extra hard in this one because they know what is riding on the line. The first meeting between these two teams ISU came away with a 6 point victory. But, the second time they met it was UT that prevailed with a 7 point victory. This should be a hard fought battle until the closing minutes, but I think ISU is the way better team right now and will crush UT’s hopes and might keep them out of the NCAA tournament while beating them in this one.