Texas Tech basketball: Norense Odiase’s defense critical in win

Playing more minutes than he has in quite some time, Texas Tech forward Norense Odiase came up big to help the Red Raiders snap their losing streak.

Prior to Saturday’s game against Arkansas, I wrote that Tariq Owens would have come up big if Texas Tech was going to win. And as is so often the case with my predictions, that proved not to be the case.

While Owens was a virtual non-factor with just two points and three rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out (though he did have three big blocks), Odiase helped pick up the slack. Facing off with Arkansas star big man Daniel Gafford, a projected NBA 1st round pick this summer, the senior was huge, especially on the defensive end of the court.

At first glance, Odiase’s stat line was unremarkable. He had two points, seven rebounds and a block and his four turnovers were an issue.

But he is not going to ever be an offensive force. He is an old school player in a new school game built around jump-shooting and ball-handling big men.

Rather, Tech needs Odiase’s grit and presence in the post as an embodiment of the attitude Chris Beard wants his team to assume. And Saturday that’s what we got as Odiase played 23 minutes while Tariq Owens battled foul trouble all night. That ties a season-high as he also saw 23 minutes against Duke and powerful freshman Zion Williamson.

It was also the first time against a major conference opponent that Odiase has played more minutes than Owens. And while he was far from perfect, his strong defense was able to cause Gafford some problems.

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To understand fully the importance of Odiase’s work, we must look beyond the box score. Gafford was 6-6 from the field and had 14 points, just two shy of his season average.

But he was not able to exploit the absence of Owens and take over the game. In fact, he was a rather limited part of Arkansas’ attack. This season, he is averaging 9.6 shots per game and on nine occasions he has had at least 10 shots in a game so the fact that he only attempted six on Saturday was significant.

Now, one of the reasons for his decreased shot total was the fact that he spent most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble. Still, Tech was able to play solid positional defense helping limit Gafford’s touches and Odiase was a huge component in that effort.

Sometimes, it is easy to look at a player’s shooting percentage as the best way to judge his performance. But on Saturday, Gafford had an opportunity to dominate the game for his team but was unable to do so in large part because Tech made him work for every touch and made certain that if he was going to score, he was going to have to earn his points.

Another key factor was that Tech did not send Gafford to the free throw line but for two attempts. On the season he averages 6.3 free throws per game including a season-high 14 against Texas State.

Many players lose their discipline when facing off with an elite talent and try to do too much like cheat positionally, reach or go for blocks too often. But Odiase played his game and made Gafford work. He was able to do battle against one of the best big men in the nation and hold his own which should come as no surprise.

He ranks second out of Tech’s rotational players in points prevented this year preventing 7.1 per 100 possessions when on the court. Additionally, in plus-minus when he is on the court, Tech is averaging 5.4 more points per 100 possessions than its opponents.

Often, Tech has to take Odiase off the floor as teams go with only one big man. In those instances, the Red Raiders need to keep Owens on the floor because of his rim-protecting and the fact that he provides better offense.

Texas Tech beats Arkansas 67-64. dark. Next

But as we saw Saturday, there will be times when Norense Odiase has to be a significant contributor. And his defensive effort and leadership will continue to be a key factor for Texas Tech moving forward.

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