Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Kyler Edwards was fantastic, going 7 of 10 from the field, 4 of 6 from the three-point line, 5 boards, and 4 assists.
The Motion:
- Eh, not sure what to say about this game. Baylor was absolutely lethal from the three-point line, making 63% compared to just 53% from inside the arc. That’s pretty well insane. Heck, Baylor only made 68% of their free throws, so sometimes, it’s just one of those games. Teague wasn’t the biggest three-point threat for Baylor, but he was yesterday and he simply could not miss, making 10 of 12 from beyond the arc and my guess would be that anyone that does that is pretty well church. I’d also add that playing on the road against a team that’s holding their senior day is really sort of a tough match-up, and when that team is best team in the Big 12, this result isn’t all that unexpected.
- Truthfully, Texas Tech couldn’t keep pace offensively, and if there was ever something where I was worried about Texas Tech’s defense, it would be closing out on three-point shooters. I tend to think that Texas Tech has scrambled a bit, and I’d also state that Baylor’s ability swing and shoot makes this easier for them than most teams. Regardless, I think that’s been my biggest weakness for Texas Tech as I’ve watched them play. And without looking this up, I had no idea that Texas Tech was 229th in opposing three-point percent. That’s a pretty big weakness and it doesn’t make sense to me. Especially when last year, with a less athletic lineup, Texas Tech was 59th in the same category and 12th the year before that.
- Some positives? Kyler Edwards looked really good, and were it not his shooting in the first half, this would have been a 30-point blowout. I don’t know why he doesn’t shoot more but I can’t explain certain things. Terrence Shannon also had a decent game, shooting 3 three-pointers is fine, when he makes all three, that’s even better, but that is not the norm.
- One of those wonky stats, Edwards’ 5 rebounds led the team. This was actually a pretty big disparity, maybe the biggest other than the shooting, which is that Baylor dominated the boards, 40-27, which is a huge margin and Baylor grabbed 14 offensive boards to just 10 for Texas Tech.
- One of those other things that’s probably important to an extent is that Texas Tech had just 13 assists on 27 shots. A lot of one-on-one in terms of offensive production, but that’s a big part of Baylor’s defense. To shoot 46% and 50% from the beyond the arc is actually really good.
- Did not enjoy McCullar going 0-5 from beyond the arc. Other than that, he was actually fine and was the only guy really going to the line, 7 of 10 from the charity stripe, but an uncharacteristic 1 rebound for the entire game.
- No quotes from Beard from this game (obviously he spoke in the post-game press conference, which is embedded below).
- And before we get to the next game, a note about the passing of Dub Malaise. Malaise was part of the charter Ring of Honor for basketball, averaged over 20 points a game in over 3 seasons for Texas Tech. Malaise was 77. Think a good thought for Malaise and his family. Rest in peace.
- Up next? I typically don’t just sort of get ready for whatever is next, do as I’m told. But I think that Texas Tech will play Texas on March 11th at 8:30 p.m. in the Big 12 Basketball Tournament, held in Kansas City, Missouri.
Highlights