Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders were able to dominate OK State
Tech’s big man dominated OSU’s big man
We love t discuss head-to-head matchups of guards or wing players but in the modern game, battles between big men don’t get much attention. However, don’t overlook how critical T.J. Holyfield’s domination of Yor Anei was in Tech’s blowout win.
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The 6-foot-8 Holyfield played his best game of the year given the level of competition and importance of the game. His 17 points were his third-most of the season and he came out early with 11 points before halftime, which proved to be critical in an opening twenty minutes that saw eight lead changes.
What was most important in Holyfield’s game was that he hit shots away from the bucket. In addition to his two 3-pointers, the Albuquerque native nailed another jumper from outside the paint and that was enough to keep OSU’s human eraser from camping out in the lane.
Anei came into the game blocking 2.4 shots per game, but he had only one against the Red Raiders. What’s more, he had just three points and one rebound, which is unacceptable for the 6-foot-10 sophomore who had been averaging 11.1 points and 5.7 boards per game.
Much of Anei’s struggles were related to foul trouble. With two early fouls against him, he was only on the court for 7:22 of the first half. For the game, he saw only 12:46 of action and his team was a -15 on the scoreboard when he was in the game. Conversely, Holyfield was a +33 on the afternoon.
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As Holyfield struggled at the end of November and beginning of December, right when Tech started facing major conference opponents, many fans worried that the player who had spent his entire career playing for Stephen F. Austin of the Southland Conference was in over his head on a Big 12 team. But Saturday, he proved he belonged in this conference as he had his way in a matchup against one of the most improved forwards in the nation.