Texas Tech basketball: What we learned in the two losses in Vegas

Chris Clarke is the guy that makes this team go

Where would Tech have been in either game in Vegas without Chris Clarke?  Not fighting for wins in the final minutes, that’s for sure.

After a somewhat quiet and passive start to his season and Red Raider career, the grad transfer from Virginia Tech was the Red Raiders’ best player this week.  It’s obvious that he’s the motor that makes their entire machine run.

Averaging 14 points, 7 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in the two-game set in Sin City, the 6-foot-6 forward almost single-handedly kept his team afloat while stars like Davie Moretti, Kyler Edwards, and Jahmi’us Ramsey struggled (Ramsey did not play Friday against Creighton after going down with a hamstring injury in the second half of Thursday’s loss to Iowa).

Clarke is the steadying presence that this young team has to have.  Regardless of the situation, he never plays out of control or lets opponents speed him up.  In fact, when the game is at its most chaotic, Clarke seems to slow down even more.

We already knew that his ability to pass the ball was going to be critical.  Chris Beard has said that Clarke may be the best passer he’s ever coached.

This is a roster that has some players like Moretti and (at times) Edwards, who aren’t as adept at creating for themselves and others against pressure defense so Clarke’s ability to see the floor and handle the ball is invaluable.  When the game is on the line, we all want the ball in his hands.

But what we also learned this week is that he has to be assertive when looking for his shots.  In the first four games of the year, he attempted only eight shots but against Iowa, he took nine and against Creighton he put it up 14 times.

Clarke displayed a keen post-up game where he can exploit mismatches against smaller guards.  It is reminiscent of the way Villanova used its point guard Jalen Bruson in its 2018 title run that went through Tech in the Elite 8.

With Ramsey out, Clarke got his first start and was more greedy with his shot than he has been all year.  For Tech to be the best version of itself this year, that’s got to be an essential aspect of the senior’s game that we must see even when Ramsey is on the court.