Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders thrive on shutting down opposing stars
Nick Rakocevic / Benny Boatwright – USC
In its first true test of the season, the Texas Tech basketball team took down the USC Trojans in Kansas City back in November. One huge reason for the Red Raiders’ 78-63 win was their ability to make life difficult on Southern Cal’s top two scorers Benny Boatwright and Nick Rakocevic.
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That duo averaged a combined 32.9 points per game this season with Boatwright leading the way with 18.2. And early in the season, Rakocevic was nearly unstoppable as he entered the game with the Red Raiders averaging 17.6 points and 15.3 rebounds.
However, when going up against the nation’s best defense, that duo managed just 23 points and 15 rebounds. And it was the 6-foot-11 Rakocevic that was especially frustrated.
Being held to just five shots in the game, the emotional big man lost his cool and was assessed a flagrant foul in the second half. And being physical with the Trojan center was intentional as Tech found a way to exploit his lack of restraint, something that plagued him all season, drawing three early fouls which rendered him a spectator for most of the first half.
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As for Boatwright, he was held to 14 points and it took him 14 shots to get to that point. Similar to the way Tech handled Duke’s Barrett, the Red Raiders made Boarwright incredibly inefficient. The senior forward is projected to be an NBA draft pick this summer and had just five games with fewer than 14 points this year but he too was unable to solve Chris Beard and the Texas Tech defense.