Texas Tech Basketball Dominates TCU 83-71
The Texas Tech basketball team surpasses last season’s overall and conference win totals via a convincing 83-71 road win against TCU.
For the first time in three games, the Texas Tech basketball team did not need Keenan Evans to be the hero on Saturday. In fact, the Red Raiders really didn’t need a hero at all.
True freshman Jarrett Culver scored a game-high 20 points to lead the red Raiders to a dominating 83-71 win over TCU in Ft. Worth. The win moved Texas Tech into a tie with Kansas for first place in the Big 12 and was the team’s league-best fourth consecutive win.
The game featured a contrast in styles with the Big 12’s best defensive team in Texas Tech taking on its second-highest scoring team in TCU. As usual, defense carried the day.
Tech held the Frogs to 14 points below their season average by forcing 17 turnovers and playing at a frenetic defensive pace in the half-court. But what took most by surprise was the Red Raiders’ offensive explosion.
In recent games, the Red Raiders have struggled with their team offense often relying on Keenan Evans to redeem bad possessions. However, Tech was an offensive force on the afternoon knocking down 10 threes en route to shooting 50.9% from the field.
In fact, Tech was able to build a 20-point lead before Evans scored his first points of the game. That was due in large part to the performance of the Red Raider’s second-leading scorer, true freshman Jarrett Culver.
Culver was the alpha and omega to the Texas Tech performance. His four three-pointers in the first half spurred an offensive onslaught that saw Tech close the half on a 39-15 blitz to take a 48-24 lead into the break.
As is common for teams with a huge lead, Tech hit a lull in the middle of the second half allowing TCU climb to within eleven at 63-52. However, Culver would end the TCU run with a baseline dunk that quieted the home crowd and reignited the Texas Tech offense. He would then hit four free throws in the next minute to push the lead back to 15 points and make the final outcome a foregone conclusion.
As for Evans, the Red Raiders’ leading scorer was steady with 17 efficient points on 6-14 shooting. Freshman Zhaire Smith added 12 more points and was one of nine Red Raiders to score on the afternoon.
"“The one thing that’s big for us is when we don’t turn the ball over, we got a pretty good team.” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said of his team’s first half performance."
It was a first half that is in the conversation of the best 20 minutes of basketball the team has played all season. In addition to Culver’s hot start, Justin Gray added seven points and Davide Moretti had four points in the first half. It was the first time that the freshman Moretti had scored a point since January 13th and his seven points on the day were his most since December 19th.
Texas Tech handed TCU its worst loss of the season while making a statement that the Red Raiders intend to be part of the Big 12 title race. Of course, Beard isn’t looking that far ahead.
"“To me…the conference race doesn’t really start until February. So we’re 1-0 in the Big 12 and we’ll see what happens this month.” Beard Said."
Of course, fortune is fleeting in the rugged Big 12. But as the conference race heads into its second month, Texas Tech finds itself tied with Kansas (which Tech beat in Lawerence on January 3rd) atop the league standings.
Next: Keenan Evans Becomes A Texas Tech Legend
That’s a place virtually no one saw Texas Tech occupying when the season started. But if the Red Raiders continue to play as well as they did on Saturday, it’s a place that they just might stay.