Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: JT Toppin (light a prayer candle for the big man) finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers.
The Motion:
- I did not stay up to watch this game, perhaps that’s a good thing that I did not do that given all of the things that transpired.
- The biggest news is that JT Toppin left the game late in the 2nd half with a lower leg injury and did not return. He was leading the team with 20 points at the time and only played 32 minutes, which he played all but 1 minute in the 1st half and he missed perhaps the last 9 or 10 minutes of the game. Obviously, this engine does not run without Toppin. There is no plan B without Toppin.
- For the first time that I can remember, Texas Tech scored just .985 per possession and I cannot recall when it was under 1.0. That’s largely because of the 17 turnovers, 7 of them were from Christian Anderson, 4 of them were from Toppin, and 3 of them were from Watts. That’s your 3 main ball handlers turning the ball over way too much. The points off of turnovers was 6 for Texas Tech and 21 for Arizona State. That’s a killer.
- I think part of the drama from the game was that Atwell missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to tie the game, something he hasn’t done in ages (like years) and given all of the life-saving things he’s done for this team I’m not going to hold that against him.
- Anderson fouled out with about 2 minutes remaining in the game. He was 3 of 5 in each half, but maybe that’s not enough shots. Of course, some of that is his fault given that he turned the ball over 7 times. I don’t know if it mattered whether or not not having Anderson the last 2 minutes of the game mattered, but it probably did.
- Watts just played just 18 minutes and was 1 of 4 from the floor. I mentioned the turnovers above. Again, a bit of a passenger and he may not have that option if Toppin is injured. I’d also add that Petty is struggling a bit now, just 1 of 6 from the floor and that’s in 30 minutes. I think you need more from a starter than 4 points.
- I don’t know who is going to fill the void with Toppin possibly missing time. Bamgboye played 20 minutes, but he missed all 3 shots he took. I would probably lean a bit on Moseley and force-feed him some minutes. He’s the closest thing you have to a power forward on the roster where you might not have to change very much. He’ll have to hit the boards a bit more as he didn’t have any rebounds in 10 minutes.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “To their credit, I thought the way they hung in there with each other over the course of the game really said a lot about their team. The biggest stat for me was just our inability to take care of the ball which led to some transition baskets. We had some moments where we got divided, and we just didn’t have the competitiveness that it took to win on the road, so it’s disappointing. I’ve got to do better to help our team in these road environments. We’ve always been a good road team and we fought and obviously had some success, but this wasn’t good enough.”
- Advanced Stats: Toppin +4.7; Atwell +3.4; Anderson +1.2; Petty -6.7; Bamgboye -3.3; Watts -2.2; and Horner -1.1.
- Up next? Kansas State at home on Saturday, February 21st with tip-off at 1:30 p.m. and the game will be on FOX.
Highlights