Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Not a hard one to pick today. Darrion Williams was perfect, 12 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 4 from deep as well as 2 of 2 from the line, 11 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 block, and 2 steals. Holy smokes.
The Motion:
- Texas Tech was sort of due for this sort of win and so was Kansas. Kansas has lived on the margins, winning a ton of close games with questionable calls and Texas Tech has had to grind out wins and grind out games without certain players. Texas Tech was due to have a break-out game and right out of the chute in the McCasland presser he gives credit to his assistant coaches for the terrific game plan.
- It was the 3-point barrage in the first half, 8 of 14 with no one really able to miss and shot 54% from the field overall. The second half, things were tighter, only shooting 45% and only 2 of 12 from deep, maybe settling for too many outside shots. The key was that the defense didn’t relent, holding Kansas 35% in the first half and 29% from outside, and 31% in the second half as well as 11% from beyond the arc. The defense got tighter and Kansas felt it, only going 5 of 8 from the free throw line. For the record, Texas Tech scored 1.234 points per possession and held Kansas to .806. That almost never happens like that.
- Warren Washington is a damn rock. He’s so important to this thing, only scoring 11 points, but he was 5 of 7 from the floor with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 block, and 1 steal. His length bothered Dickinson and who went 2 of 12 last night.
- A few numbers. Texas Tech outrebounded Kansas 42 to 26 and only allowed 4 offensive boards. Texas Tech scored 7 2nd chance points and didn’t allow a single one by the Jayhawks. Only 8 turnovers to 19 assists is a helluva rate.
- The guards are still struggling a bit to make shots. Isaacs made just 1 of 9 overall and 1 of 6 from deep, but he did have 5 assists and 1 turnover. Toussaint wasn’t much better, 2 of 9 from the floor, but 3 assists and 1 turnover. McMillian was just 3 of 8 and Walton was 2 of 7. They’ll have to be better on Saturday, I can almost guarantee that.
- The post-game notes say that Williams’ perfect 12 of 12 without a miss is the most against a ranked opponent in AP Poll history. Here’s a quote from Williams, which I thought was great: “It feels good. I mean, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates setting me up for a lot of those shots. So, without them it wouldn’t have happened. It was a good team win. It’s all the work I put in. I’m in the gym all the time. Everybody on the team is in the gym all the time and we all just trust our work and it works. I made a lot of mistakes on defense that I’m sure Coach will yell at me tomorrow about, but I mean overall we won the game, but this isn’t our goal to beat Kansas. We’re trying to win the league.”
- The crowd was electric.
- Advanced stats tell us that Williams had the highest +/- I think I’ve ever seen at a +36.6. Absolutely ridiculous. W. Washington was +13.1, Jennings was +6.2, McMillian was +3.9, and Isaacs was just +0.1. Toussaint and Walton were both negative, -4.2 and -1.0 respectively.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “The love and fight that our guys have for each other was on display. In a game where we knew they are shorthanded, we felt like protecting the paint would be a big deal. Not letting them get anything close to the rim. They only got four offensive rebounds. That tells me our team continues to improve. What a remarkable night to be a part a great team and great win and great university.”
- Up next? Saturday, February 17th at Hilton Coliseum against No. 10 Iowa State, with tip-off with your coffee at 11:00 a.m. and the game on ESPN+.
Highlights