The Texas Tech basketball team will finally face its first real test of the season tonight when it takes on USC in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.
After cruising to a 3-0 start by playing three teams that could hardly spell “basketball” much less play it, the Texas Tech basketball team will face its first true test of the season tonight. At the Sprint Center in Kansas City, home of the Big 12 Tournament, the Red Raiders are set to face off with the USC Trojans in the Hall of Fame Classic at 8:30 this evening before facing either Nebraska or Missouri State tomorrow night.
Our friends over at “Busting Brackets” have a nice breakdown of the tournament field to help get you ready for a great two days of college basketball. But here’s hoping their prediction of a Texas Tech loss tonight is off the mark. Let’s have more faith in ESPN.com’s statistically based “match-up predictor” which gives the Red Raiders a 70% shot at coming out on top.
Tonight’s game with the Trojans should be fascinating because of the contrasting styles of play. We all know that the Red Raiders have built a culture of defensive intensity during the Chris Beard era and tonight we will have our first opportunity to see if this year’s team can shut down a very talented offensive team.
USC is scoring 85.3 points per game (nine points more than the Red Raiders have averaged this year) during their 2-1 start. But their offense was held in check a bit in their only game thus far against a Power 5 team. In an 82-78 home loss to Vanderbilt, the Trojans shot only 39.5% from the field and 21.1% from three-point range.
On the season, USC has shot 48.5% from the field but only 32.7% from deep. Texas Tech has shot the ball more effectively thus far hitting 50.9% overall and 36.7% from behind the arc.
Defensively, the Trojans have been pretty strong allowing 67.7 points per game. They are holding opponents to just 34.5% shooting, which is better than most thought the offensively-minded squad would be able to do on defense.
Keep an eye on the free throw line because this game may be determined by which team is able to rise above their pedestrian season average at the stripe. USC is hitting just 66.7% of their 21 foul shots per game while Texas Tech is hitting just 64% while attempting 16.6 foul shots per contest.
The three USC players to watch tonight are 6-foot-11 Nick Rakocevic, 6-foot-10 Benny Boatwright and 6-foot-6 freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr. That trio is scoring 47.4 points per game with Rakocevic leading the way with 17.7.
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Rakocevic is also a terror on the glass grabbing 15.3 rebounds per game. It would be wise for the Red Raiders to go at him on the defensive end in hopes of putting him in foul trouble.
The problem with that plan is that thus far, Tech has not showing a willingness to drive to the rim on a consistent basis. After losing players that were adept at penetrating the lane like Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith from last year’s team, Tech has become more of a jump-shooting team with the likes of Matt Mooney, Davide Moretti and Brandone Francis playing significant offensive roles.
It will also be fascinating to see how Tariq Owens and Norense Odiase play against an elite front court duo. Rakocevic and Boatwright form the type of low post duo that Tech will see in Big 12 play so we should get a better look at whether Tech can hold up against elite big men.
But team defense, especially on the defensive glass, must be a priority. Tech has to swarm to the ball and crash the boards as a group. The Red Raider guards must be willing to get in the lane and battle tonight because USC has the ability to clean up on the glass if Tech’s guards don’t fully commit to cleaning up the glass.
On offense, this game is where we need to see Jarrett Culver begin to assert himself as one of the best players in the nation. The sophomore leads the Red Raiders in scoring at 16.3 points per game but thus far, he has not had to take over a game and at times he has looked passive and almost bored against inferior competition.
That will not be the case tonight. Culver has an opportunity to show the nation what type of player he is and begin to build his case for being an NBA lottery pick next summer because there are several NBA prospects on the other roster drawing plenty of eyes to tonight’s game.
Additionally, Matt Mooney can begin to show why he was one of the top graduate transfers on the market this summer. He came to Texas Tech to play in games of this magnitude so expect him to have a huge impact tonight.
Throughout the offseason, Texas Tech basketball fans have been unhappy with the national opinion that this year’s version of the Red Raiders will take a step back. Tech was picked 7th in the Big 12 preseason poll and is only considered a fringe NCAA Tournament team by most experts. Over the next two days, the Red Raiders have an opportunity to prove that they are more than a collection of hold-overs from last year’s Elite 8 team and show the nation that they are to be taken seriously as a contender once again.