Game Links
Game Recap
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: So many choices, but I’m giving it to the big man, Norense Odiase, who had a near double-double, 9 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, a block, and a turnover. He was dominant on the boards and talk about setting the tone, it was Odi. Four of his 10 boards were on the offensive end.
Defender of the Game: I don’t even know when you only let the opposing team have 9 field goals and 50 points overall. The defense was suffocating. Hell, the walk-on’s checked into the game with over 6 minutes left.
Multi-Purpose Player of the Game: Matt Mooney had 9 points, 3 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 turnovers on the night. Plus he drilled a three-point bucket after getting intentionally tripped.
Game Notes:
- West Virginia wanted no part of this game. Part of me thinks they just gave up before they even played the game. In fact, in the preview, I quoted an article where Huggins was already complaining about the travel. When your coach has given in then you’ve probably given in as a team. That’s not to take away from a blowout win for Texas Tech, but West Virginia was an absolute mess, they were unfocused, they were emotional, and they let their emotions get the better of them.
- You could make an argument that Brandone Francis should be the player of the game, he scored 16 points and was absolutely great in transition, which helped feed his three-point shot. If Francis does more of the transition things, the other things will open up. Francis hit 7 of 10, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. It would be terrific if this led to a hot streak, but I’ve typed that before. Francis is just streaky and I think that’s just who he is. I hope I’m wrong.
- For real, a West Virginia player legitimately tried to trip Matt Mooney thinking he’d get away with it.
The best part though was that Mooney went down and drained a wide-open three-point shot.That kind of night. 😎 pic.twitter.com/ayy0OSGSoX
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 5, 2019
- Jarrett Culver had a quiet night and he did make one desperation three-point basket, but overall, he didn’t need to be great, which I think was probably good for his mental health. Culver was 5 of 9, for 12 points, 2 boards, 4 assists, and just 1 turnover.
- Culver, Francis, Davide Moretti, and Deshawn Corprew are the players that scored in double-figures, Moretti making 3 of 5 with 4 assists and 1 turnover, while Corprew scored 10 in 13 minutes, making all 3 of his shots, including 2 of 2 from the three-point line.
- I don’t know how much we actually learn from this game. I don’t think that West Virginia wanted to be in Lubbock and they played like an absolute trash team. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team quit like the Mountaineers quit last night. For me, I’m not going to read a ton into this game. It was good to get a win, but there’s something terrible about the Mountaineers and I think it’s probably a reflection of the top of the food chain.
- Despite having walk-on’s heave three-pointers for the last 6 minutes, Texas Tech still made 53% of their shots, including 36% from the three-point line. Of Texas Tech’s 30 field goals, 20 were assisted, which means that this team was passing the heck out of the ball. Texas Tech did have 38 points in the paint compared to just 10 for West Virginia.
- Brandone Francis said that there was a players-only meeting on Sunday night where they situated some things and after the game, with Beard sitting right next to him, Francis just loved up on Beard:
“I could have played better. I had three turnovers. I didn’t have as many assists should have taken care of the ball. Try to focus on the next game and stick to the process. This guy to my right [coach Beard], the best coach I ever had in my life, a good mentor on and off the court. The leader of our team, I mean that, I’m not trying to blow smoke, he just keeps us so composed and knows what he’s doing. Were just here to follow.”
- Head coach Chris Beard:
“They responded. We didn’t have our best effort against Kansas, but that’s coaching too,” said Texas Tech coach Chris Beard, who improved to 46-5 at home in his three seasons leading the program. “We responded and we told each other the truth. We know West Virginia is a little undermanned right now and shorthanded and some of their best players are hurt. I think if West Virginia and Tech played 10 times, it would be 5 and 5 in my opinion. Tonight’s score is not a good representation. I think you have to give our players credit for responding when our backs were against the wall. I was not pleased in the way we played against Kansas. All you can do is respond. Tonight I thought we played much better.”
- Texas Tech travels to Norman to take on Oklahoma this Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Highlights