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Know Thine Enemy: What will Texas Tech have to do to beat No. 1 Kansas?

By Matthew Conner

Jan 4, 2016; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Jamari Traylor (31), forward Perry Ellis (34) and guard Frank Mason III (0) celebrate after the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won the game 109-106 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Jamari Traylor (31), forward Perry Ellis (34) and guard Frank Mason III (0) celebrate after the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won the game 109-106 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Life in the world of Big 12 basketball doesn’t get any easier for Texas Tech today. In fact, it gets almost as hard as possible as Tubby Smith’s Red Raiders host the No. 1 team in the nation, the Kansas Jayhawks.

Coming off a physical and intense game in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State that saw the Red Raiders lose for only the second time this season. But the schedule affords the team no time to lick its wounds after the 76-69 setback.

Such is the way it goes in the country’s best basketball conference. Tonight, Texas has its second chance in a week to make a national statement about its once lifeless program by taking down one of the Big 12’s top teams.

On the other hand, the Red Raiders could easily fall to 1-2 in conference play and lose the momentum built over the team’s recent 10-game winning streak. So let’s take a look at what problems the Jayhawks can cause and what Texas Tech will have to do to pull off the upset.

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The first worry the Jayhawks present is the fact that coach Bill Self’s team averages right under 90 points per game. Three players on the Kansas roster rank in the top 13 individual scorers in the Big 12.

The Jayhawks are led by forward Perry Ellis’ 16.1 points per game (4th in the conference). In Monday’s epic three overtime win over Oklahoma, Ellis had 27 points and 13 rebounds.

The second half of the Kansas 1-2 punch, Wayne Seldon Jr. is 5th in the league scoring 15.9 per game. He posted 21 points against the Sooners, the 4th time this season he has put up at least 20 points in a game. The other member of the Kansas backcourt, Frank Mason III is No.13 in the league with 13.2 points per game and that duo should be a concern for Texas Tech fans.

In both conference games this season, Texas Tech has allowed an opposing guard to have a career performance. First it was Texas’ Isaiah Taylor putting up 35 points last Saturday and on Wednesday, Iowa State guard Matt Taylor set a career high with 22 points.

Texas Tech has struggled to contain Big 12 guards this season and tonight it will have to corral the best backcourt it will see all year. Shutting the KU guards down is unlikely but the Red Raiders must at least keep them from going crazy and hold them close to their season average.

On the other hand, Texas Tech has to receive production from its backcourt, as was not the case against the Cyclones. Senior guards Toddrick Gotcher and Devaughntah Williams, which together average 26.6 points per game, put up only 22 in the team’s last game.

But what was most damaging to the Texas Tech effort on Wednesday was the duo’s 1-9 effort from behind the 3-point line. If Texas Tech is going to pull off the upset of Kansas, someone on the team is going to have to be a three-point threat and Gotcher or Williams are the most likely candidates.

Another key matchup to watch is the Perry Ellis vs. Zach Smith head-to-head dual. Ellis is the best player on the KU team but few players in college basketball can match Smith’s athleticism.

Similar to Smith’s matchup against Iowa State where he had to guard another fantastic senior, Georges Niang, he must prove that he can at least neutralize Ellis.

One advantage for Texas Tech is that the Jayhawks don’t have another presence in the post like the Cyclones did in forward Jameel McKay who controlled the paint with 5 blocks, 14 rebounds and 19 points.

Norense Odiase must be an efficient scoring threat and stay out of foul trouble while being able to be a rebounding force on both ends of the floor.

As always, Texas Tech will have to have an advantage at the free throw line. Kansas shoots 71% from the stripe while Texas Tech hits 73% of its attempts. Both teams get to the line frequently (Texas Tech shoots 25.6 per game while Kansas goes to the line 23.2 times per game). Texas Tech may need another performance at the free-throw line like it had against Texas when it hit 27-30 (90%).

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The task facing the Red Raiders is daunting but not impossible. Kansas is an excellent but not unbeatable team. No one knows what the mental state of the Jayhawks will be following Monday’s three overtime epic against No. 2 Oklahoma.

Will Bill Self be able to convince his team that Texas Tech is a legitimate threat or will the Jayhawks think they can come into the United Supermarkets Arena and waltz all over the Red Raiders? If Kansas thinks that this year’s Texas Tech squad is the same garbage fire that the school has put on the court in the past half decade, it may turn out to be a signature night for the Tubby Smith era in Lubbock.

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