Texas Tech basketball: 5 players to know from the West Region

Markus Howard – Marquette

It is hard to imagine but Ja Morant will not be the top scoring player in his first round game.  That is because the No. 5 seeded Marquette Golden Eagles feature 25-point per game scorer Markus Howard.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior from Chandler, Arizona is one of the most exciting players in the nation to watch.  He shoots 42.4% from the field including 40.8% from 3-point range but also can get into the paint and dish the rock (he averages four assists per game as well).

Howard is a score-first point guard in the truest sense. He has ten 30-point games this season including a 53-point outburst against Creighton.  And that is because he is amazingly adept at getting his shot off, even against tight defensive pressure.

If Tech sees Howard in the Elite 8, it will be important for bigger guards like Culver, Brandone Francis and Matt Mooney to be physical with him and make him prove that he is strong enough to beat smothering perimeter defense.  But there is a danger in being overly physical with Howard because he is an 89.2% free throw shooter who averages 7.6 trips to the line per game.

The best way to beat Tech’s defense is to break it down with dribble penetration.  That is something that Markus Howard has proven capable of doing and he could be a tough guard for the Red Raiders or any other team in the West to stop.