Texas Tech basketball dominant in 2nd half during NCAA Tournament

Tech shakes off first-half sluggishness against Northern Kentucky

The first game of the NCAA Tournament is always the most harrowing for top-4 seeds.  Almost always facing scrappy mid-major teams with nothing to lose in arenas that usually are not filled to capacity, heavily favored teams are especially susceptible to being upset in the first round.

And when the Red Raiders faced No. 14 seeded Northern Kentucky in Tulsa to open the tournament, they certainly did not come out of the locker room firing on all cylinders.  The Red Raiders shot the ball well (12-22) to open the game but committed six turnovers and made just 1-8 free throws allowing NKU to enter the break trailing just 30-26.

Helping to make this game’s lethargic start even more concerning was the memory of the team’s uninspiring performance in its previous game, a 79-74 loss to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament.  But in the second half, the Red Raiders were able to shake off the rust and rediscover their trademark intensity.

Outscoring the Norse 42-31 in the game’s second twenty minutes, the Red Raiders were perfect from the line (9-9) after the break and gave the ball away just five times.  What’s more, they allowed NKU to shoot just 3-7 from deep in the second half.

It was interesting to watch Tech run the Norse off the 3-point line after letting them have eleven attempts from deep in the first half.  Though NKU make only two first-half 3’s, their best shot at pulling the upset was to get hot from deep after halftime and Tech’s increased perimeter ball pressure helped ensure that NKU never got going from behind the arc.

A key 13-3 run over a four-minute stretch in the beginning of the half helped give the Red Raiders’ breathing room.  During that time, Tech went 6-6 from the field and put the clamps on NKU allowing them to avoid being another classic March upset victim.