Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders thrive on shutting down opposing stars

Jeremiah Martin – Memphis

One of the most exciting games of the season was December’s 78-67 win over Memphis in which Tech rallied from a double-digit second-half lead.  The lead story from that game was Tariq Owens setting the program record with eight blocked shots but the most impressive feat from the Red Raiders was what they did to Memphis’ leading scorer Jeremiah Martin.

This season, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged an impressive 19.7 points per game but Texas Tech held him to just seven on 2 of 12 shooting.  Martin was 0-5 from 3-point range as he was held to single-digits for one of just three times this year.

What makes this showing by the Red Raiders all the more impressive is the fact that Martin had some big games against other teams considered to be elite defensively.  Facing Cincinnati, No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense at 62.7 points per game, Martin averaged 27 points in two games.

Against Houston, No. 6 defensively in the nation at 61.0 p.p.g., Martin scored 23 points in a 3-point loss to the Cougars in the semifinals of the A.A.C. Tournament.  And against the same Central Florida team that just took Duke to the limit in round-two of the NCAA Tournament thanks to the defense of 7-foot-6 center Taco Fall, Martin poured in 25 points in a 79-72 loss.

The senior finished his career 10th all-time in the storied history of Memphis basketball with 1,622 points.  But when he came up against the Texas Tech defense, he was frustrated and neutralized as the Red Raiders forced one of the best scorers in the nation into one of the worst days of his career.