Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders were able to dominate OK State

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - MARCH 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to play on the court during the second half of the game against the Texas Longhorns on March 4, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Texas 70-51. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - MARCH 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to play on the court during the second half of the game against the Texas Longhorns on March 4, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Texas 70-51. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Texas Tech Red Raiders fans cheer (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Texas Tech Red Raiders fans cheer (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The Red Raiders dominated the glass

So often, games in the Big 12 are won and lost on the glass.  Though this game was essentially put to bed by the second media timeout of the second half, don’t overlook the work Tech did in out-rebounding OSU 39-29.

Most importantly, the Red Raiders had 8 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points.  While that is strong, it’s slightly lower than the 9.4 offensive boards Tech has averaged against the five major opponents faced thus far, including the Cowboys.

Grad transfer Chris Clarke continues to be a rebounding machine.  He had ten more boards on Saturday to push his season average to 8.9 per game.  That’s tied for fifth-most in the Big 12.

T.J. Holyfield’s big offensive game will get most of the attention but he also grabbed seven important rebounds.  It was his second-straight game with seven boards, which is the second-most he’s had in a game as a Red Raider.  He had a season-high nine two games ago against UT Rio Grande Valley.

Shannon was also active on the boards with 5 while Ramsey and Andrei Savrasov each collected 4.  Meanwhile, after Cam McGriff’s 9 boards, no player on the OSU roster had more than Lindy Waters’ four.

We have been wondering all season whether or not this team would be able to rebound effectively in Big 12 play given how relatively small the Red Raiders are in the post.  What we saw in the first league game of the year is a sign that Tech can rebound well enough to compete because every spot on the court appears to be committed to crashing the glass.

Home/Texas Tech Red Raiders News