Texas Tech basketball: Early-season surprises from rebuilt Red Raiders

Tech leads the Big 12 in 3-point percentage

Texas Tech has never been a program that counted on the 3-point shot as its main weapon.  Rather, in the motion offense, the 3-pointer is more of a bonus or a luxury than a necessity.

Whereas other teams simply can’t survive if their long-range arsenal misfires, Tech can get by with defense and attacking the basket.  Still, at times, every team in the nation has to knock down some 3s.

What many wondered when this season began was whether there was enough outside shooting on this team to keep opponents from simply packing the paint to guard against dribble-drives.  Outside of Davide Moretti and Kyler Edwards, no player on this roster has a pedigree of being a long-ranger sniper.

That’s not stopped this team from lighting it up from outside through three games though.  At 44.0% from deep, the Red Raiders are the top shooting team in the Big 12.

However, there is a bit of a catch.  With only 50 attempts, Tech has shot the second-fewest shots in the league from behind the arc and with 22 makes, it is tied with Kansas State for second-fewest 3-pointers, ahead of only West Virginia, which has 17.  Also, there are only five players on the team with a made 3-pointer; Ramsey (7), Moretti (6), Edwards (4), Avery Benson (3), and Holyfield (1).

There is reason to still question whether this team can shoot well enough from outside to keep opponents honest.  Is Ramsey, a 31% shooter from deep as a high school senior, going to keep hitting at a 58.3% clip?  Certainly not.  If he does, he’ll be the No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft.

Likewise, it is fair to wonder if Avery Benson is going to continue to get enough time on the floor to remain any sort of offensive threat.  The sophomore walk-on from Arkansas is averaging one 3-pointer per game but he doesn’t have the look of a player who will continue to get decent minutes or many looks when Tech steps up in competition.

Given that the remainder of the newcomers have yet to show any touch from deep, Tech’s outside shooting still remains a legitimate question.  But if Ramsey can shoot at a 35-39% rate this year and Moretti and Edwards can come close to shooting as well as they did from outside in 2018-19 (Moretti 45.9% and Edwards 44.9%) then the Red Raiders might have enough offense from behind the arc to cause teams problems.