Texas Tech basketball: 5 reasons Red Raiders were able to beat Michigan

The 3-point line was much more kind to the Red Raiders

Thursday, two of the most stingy defenses in the nation in regards to the 3-point shot faced off.  And while neither team was stellar from deep, the Red Raiders outscored the Wolverines by 15 points from 3-point range.

The shocking development was the Wolverine’s brick-fest from outside as they laid enough bricks to take Dorothy to see the Wizard.  Their only successful 3-point attempt came from walk-on C.J. Baird in the final minute of the game meaning that the Wolverines that mattered went 0-18 from behind the arc.

Michigan was never a great 3-point shooting team this year shooting 35.1% from deep.  They entered the game making 7.3 shots from 3-point range per game accounting for just over 31% of their offense this year.

When that was absent from their attack on Thursday, the Wolverines looked shell-shocked and it appeared to hurt their defensive effort and execution.  In all, five Michigan players missed multiple 3’s led by Brazdeikis who went 0-5 and Matthews who went 0-4.

Meanwhile, Tech hit 6 of its 19 long-range shots with Moretti nailing three of four and Mooney making half of his four attempts.  Against a team allowing opponents to 29.0% from deep, Tech shot 31.6% which was a key factor in helping the Red Raiders pull away in the second half.