Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Again, with the caveat that I didn’t get to see the game, I’ll give this to Pop Isaacs, who led the team with 17 points, including 5 of 11 from deep.
The Motion:
- I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year’s Eve!
- I did not get to watch yesterday’s game. Just busy around the house, so this recap is based on numbers only.
- Without getting too deep, it appears that the second half the offense cratered a bit, making 47% of shots in the first half and only 36% in the second half. Oh, and free throws were a problem, only making 9 of 18 from the charity stripe for the game. Meanwhile, TCU shot 31% in the first half and 47% in the second.
- Points in the paint were also something that weighed heavily in favor of TCU, 44 for the Horned Frogs and just 22 for Texas Tech. TCU also had 21 fast break points to just 14 for Texas Tech and TCU had 14 second chance points to just 2 for Texas Tech. That’s a lot of fast break points for an opponent, way too many and maybe says something about the transition defense, nearly a third of TCU’s points came off of transition, which is an issue.
- Head coach Mark Adams tightened up the rotations a lot and that may be an issue at some point and may be an issue now. Other than the starters, KJ Allen and Lamar Washington were the only players to get significant minutes, Kerwin Walton and Robert Jennings each had 6 minutes. I get that he has a pretty short leash, but if the offense is sort of flailing around, it may not be a bad idea to try something different. Neither Washington or Allen are specifically offensive minded players, although Allen did have 9 points, all in the first half I think. And that’s not at all to say anything about Washington either, he did have 3 assists and 1 turnover, which isn’t bad, but he’s just not an offensive player right now. Texas Tech had 15 bench points, and my guess is that those points pretty much all came in the first half, we know that Allen scored all of his and I think Walton did as well, so that’s at least 12 of the 15. Maybe that’s why you shot so well in the first half is that you gave opportunities to others? I dunno, just a thought.
- Oh jeez I didn’t even notice the turnovers until now. 23 for Texas Tech is pretty ridiculous, and just 15 for TCU.
- I probably need to watch the game, but I don’t understand how Daniel Batcho can have just 1 shot all game and play 30 minutes, that’s an issue offensively. Is it a problem that Harmon is taking 14 shots? He’s a scorer, but not a shooter and he shouldn’t need 14 shots to get his and he had just 2 assists.
- Head Coach Mark Adams: “We had success in the first half pushing the ball and attacking. TCU is a very good team with a lot of veterans who made some adjustments in the second half. Their defense was the biggest difference in the second half in how they got back and forced turnovers. The first four minutes of the second half is always important and sets the tone. They responded better than we did.”
- Up next? Texas Tech hosts Kansas Tuesday, January 3rd, with tip-off at 8:00 p.m.
Highlights