Texas Tech basketball: What we learned from the Iowa State game

On Wednesday, Texas Tech faced its first road test of the season at Iowa State. The game was a competitive and physical affair that saw the Cyclones come out on top 76-69.

Heading into the game, many considered it a litmus test for the surprising Red Raider basketball team that was riding a 10-game win streak, which included a win over the Texas Longhorns in its previous game.

Here are a few things we learned about Texas Tech during its battle with the No. 13 Cyclones.

Texas Tech lacks a consistent 3-point threat

The difference between Texas Tech and Iowa State on Wednesday was the 3-point shot. Tubby Smith’s Red Raiders went only 2-15 from behind the arc while Iowa State was 8-22 from three.

Junior guard Matt Thomas hit six threes on his way to a game-high 22 points. Almost every time Texas Tech was in position to take the lead the Cyclones, specifically Thomas, hit a clutch shot from downtown.

Texas Tech ranks 9^th in the Big 12 with a 30% success rate from three-point-land and last in the number of threes made. In 13 games, Texas Tech has made only 65 three-point shots (5 per game). In contrast, Iowa State averages 8.2 three-point makes per game, which is good for third in the league. Oklahoma leads the conference with 10.5 three-point shots made per contest.

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Senior guards Toddrick Gotcher and Devaughntah Williams are streaky shooters that can get hot from deep but they are also prone to undergoing long stretches without connecting from three-point-range. The Red Raiders do not have a knockdown long-range shooter, as do most of the Big 12 teams making life more difficult for Tech in conference play.

This version of the Texas Tech basketball team is mentally tough

Last season, the Texas Tech basketball team lost six games by at least 20 points. When the opponent would go on a big run, especially in games away from Lubbock, the Red Raiders often became flustered, discouraged and unable to fight back.

But against Iowa State, Texas Tech showed the poise and resilience that the program has been devoid of for some years.

With 8:30 left to play in the first half, Texas Tech trailed 31-13 invoking memories of last year’s 45-point loss in Ames. But Tubby Smith’s Red Raiders would go on a 10-0 run to get back into the game.

Still, the Red Raiders trailed by 10 points at halftime. In the second half, Texas Tech pulled to within four points of Iowa State by the 14:58 mark following a jumper by Norense Odiase.

The game would remain close for the majority of the night with Iowa State finally separating from Texas Tech in the final two minutes. But the encouraging news for Texas Tech is that the team went into one of the most difficult environments in the country and did not fold despite facing an up hill battle for the entire evening.

This evidence of Texas Tech’s growing maturity and confidence is an important take-away from the game because every road game in the Big 12 is going to be a brawl and this team will need to be poised and resilient when facing adversity.

Sophomore guard Justin Gray can be a huge piece for Texas Tech

After missing all but three conference games last season due to a knee injury, Gray is still working his way back towards reaching 100%. Prior to Gray’s injury last year, Tubby Smith said that the native of Tampa Bay, Florida had been the Red Raiders’ best player.

Against Iowa State, Gray was the best Red Raider on the floor. Coming off the bench, he provided a huge spark in the second half as Texas Tech attempted to claw back into the game.

Gray finished with 14 points, double his season average and one short of his season-best total. He was aggressive driving the ball to the rim and attacking the Iowa State big men who were in foul trouble thus earning six free throw attempts.

Texas Tech needs a consistent second scorer off the bench to compliment junior forward Aaron Ross. If Gray can prove to be a scoring threat to lead the second unit, Texas Tech will be a much deeper team and will be able to give its starting guards a rest during the game hopefully keeping Gotcher and Williams fresh for the stretch run.

Texas Tech must improve its perimeter defense

For the second conference game, Texas Tech allowed an opposing guard to have a career game.

In the conference opener, Texas point guard Isaiah Taylor scored 35 points single-handedly keeping the Longhorns in the game. Then against Iowa State, the Red Raiders allowed junior guard Matt Thomas to post a career-high 22 points.

The Big 12 is loaded with talented perimeter players. Oklahoma guards Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard, Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr., and Baylor small forward Taurean Prince are all top-10 individual scorers in the conference that Texas Tech will soon face.

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The Red Raiders have been tough defensively in the paint with Norense Odiase and Zach Smith but Texas Tech is giving up far too many points to opposing guards. What is troubling is that the two guards that have dominated Tech in the conference play have done their damage in different ways.

Texas’ Taylor was able to get to the rim any time he wanted to. On the other hand, the Cyclones’ Thomas was left open for spot-up jump shots. This is an indication that the Texas Tech perimeter defenders are struggling in numerous aspects of defense and this problem must be corrected soon.

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