Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: I’m going with Elijah Hawkins definitely bounced back a bit with this game, making 4 of 9, which was really 4 of 6 from deep, with 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. Controlled the tempo and just played better was fighting on defense to get to spots despite Utah being a big physical team.
The Motion:
- That’s a bit more fun. The defense was more improved, the rotations where faster and the Texas Tech defense was running out on ball screens and getting to spots and that was really big.
- Darrion Williams was pretty dominant on just 8 shots. He was 5 of 8, missing both 3-point attempts, but 9 of 12 from the line, 5 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover. Offensively, Utah really didn’t have an answer and before the game, we talked about how Texas Tech doesn’t get to the line, and Williams single-handedly changed that.
- Utah went to a team that made shots to a team that couldn’t hit the broadside of the barn. Some of that was Texas Tech, and the other part was probably a regression to the mean. Regardless, that 2nd half defensive performance for Texas Tech resulted in Utah shooting 28% from the floor, and 18% from beyond the arc. Utah did not get a ton of clean looks and you can also look at the 1st half vs. 2nd half assists, 10 in the 1st half and just 5 in the 2nd. No one was getting clean looks in the 2nd half for the Utes.
- Texas Tech shot 59% from the field and 46% from beyond the arc, believe it or not, Texas Tech was 6 of 13 in both halves from deep. Utah didn’t have any answers, but Texas Tech was highly efficient as well. Texas Tech turned the ball over only 5 times and had 17 fast break points to just 5 for Utah.
- I love watching Chance McMillian play, he’s so efficient and he plays so hard. He played more minutes than anyone else, 35 minutes, and he made 4 of 7, scored 10 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. Plus no turnovers.
- I haven’t even talked about the big men yet, which is odd. Toppin was in foul trouble for the better part of the 1st half, and he scored 11 on 5 of 7, while Federiko was a star on the lobs, making 7 of 9, scoring 14, with 3 boards, an assist, and a block. Neither Toppin nor Federiko had any turnovers.
- I feel like I need to mention Kerwin Walton hitting 2 3-pointers, and that’s huge. I think he’s fine defensively because he gives good effort, but I think that Overton plays better defense. Regardless, I think this team needs Walton to be a part of this team and offense. Oh, and I need to discuss Chris Anderson who is such a good shooter for a true freshman. Was 4 of 5 from the floor, 3 of 4 from deep and was much better defensively too.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “We have great offensive players and are growing defensively. Our urgency and ability to take away their great perimeter shooting is what I thought was the difference in the game. Their scrap was there and beat us to some balls and got offensive rebounds that we needed to get, but our team really loves each other and was competing the right way. We are growing and getting better.”
- Advanced stats had every player in the positive BPM except for Walton. Williams was +21.9, Hawkins +11.5, Anderson +9.3, McMillian +8.7, Federiko +8.0, Overton +2.7, and Toppin +0.7.
- Up next Texas Tech continues their Utah road trip in Provo against BYU on Tuesday, January 7th with tip-off at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN+
Highlights