Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: I am tempted to give this to Jamichael Stillwell, but Cruz Davis is so good, he’s good in the pick and roll, he’s a terrific passer and he’s a player that reminds me of Keenan Evans, a player that can do it all. Davis finished with 20 points on 7 of 16, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, and 1 steal, including some huge buckets down the stretch.
The Motion:
- I mentioned this earlier in the week, but I was driving with my lovely wife to San Antonio for UIL state band competition, but I was checking in on the game from the road and first half was great and second half, it was just enough to hang on and win. A terrific win. Nevertheless, I didn’t get to see a second of the game.
- The first half, Texas Tech was on fire, shot 47% including 33% from deep, while the second half the team shot 30% from the field. The one consistent thing was the fact that they made their free throws, 8 of 9 in the 1st half, and then 15 of 17 in the 2nd half. The volume of getting to the line in the 2nd half was huge for just getting points. Illinois was pretty much the opposite, 41% in the 1st and 58% in the 2nd. The lack of free throws, just 1 of 4 in the 1st half, and 7 of 15 in the 2nd, is what sort of doomed the Illini.
- Being able to out-rebound Illinois was also huge and it was not a slight margin, 43 to 32 for the game and it was really the offensive boards, 10 to 18 for Texas Tech.
- Stillwell was huge off the bench and his impact was immediate. He played 26 minutes, was just 2 of 10 from the field, but made 7 of 8 from the charity stripe, had 13 rebounds, including 6 offensive boards, and was dominant in the 2nd half.
- Big games from Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who scored 15 points on 7 of 12 and scored 15, but didn’t see a chunk of the 2nd half, which was because of cramps, nothing serious. Regardless, he could have been helpful for sure. Damario Dennis played a lot of the 2nd half and you could see just in the highlights how he struggles with defensive rotations, but he still showed up offensively. Dennis was the only negative player from a +/- standpoint.
- Donovan Atwell was just all over the place defensively and still not shooting great, just 3 of 8, but finished with 13 points and had 5 steals.
- This is a deep team and when JT Toppin gets added eventually, it’s going to be even deeper. I don’t know how everything will work out, but the issues with the frontcourt depth look like a problem that was a problem last year. Bagayoko and Moseley and Stillwell are so good. And we haven’t even talked abotu Darrion Williams who still hasn’t found a footing and that’s okay as long as all of these other things are working in their favor.
- Head coach Grant McCasland: “I told our guys, we didn’t come for this, we came for more than this. This is a great step for us. We didn’t play great in the second half and you have to give them credit. We’ve got a lot of tough games on our schedule and I think they give you the benefit of being prepared for conference when you play in the best conference in basketball. We want to keep playing games like this. It’s fun. There’s nothing like playing a game like this at home. We’ve got the right guys in character and competitiveness. Playing at home in this environment is a separator. It’s fun to be on a team and in a place that loves it. There’s real passion on our team and it was matched with the energy in the building tonight.”
- Advanced Stats:
- Up next? This Saturday, November 14th, at noon hosting Stonehill Skyhawks with the game on ESPN+.
Highlights