Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders that have to step up vs. West Virginia

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders speaks to the media in the locker room prior to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 4, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders speaks to the media in the locker room prior to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 4, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Davide Moretti has to give Tech some offense from 3-point range

I think we call can be confident that junior Davide Moretti is going to shoot better today than he did Tuesday night when he went 0-6 from 3-point range and 3-11 overall in his worst shooting effort as a Red Raider.  But for Tech to win this game, he doesn’t just have to be better, he has to be deadly from outside.

Remember that West Virginia is tough inside with 6-foot-10 Derek Culver and 6-foot-9 Oscar Tshiebwe in the paint to protect the rim.  Thus, Tech has to find offense from the perimeter, which is something only Jahmi’us Ramsey did against Baylor.  He was 5-10 from deep.  His teammates were a combined 2-13.

Last year, Moretti averaged 11.5 p.p.g. against the Mountaineers.  That included a combined 3-7 from behind the arc.

But today, he likely has to be even more of a focal point for his team.  That’s because he’s the Red Raiders’ second-best scoring option meaning he will draw quite a bit of attention, per usual.

Here’s the rub, West Virginia leads the Big 12 in 3-point defense.  They have allowed teams to shoot just 23.5% this year.  What’s more, they have surrendered just 68 long-range bombs, four less than any other team in the league.

Opponents are making just 4.8 shots from 3-point range against Huggins’ team thus far.  If Moretti can nail three shots from deep and Ramsey can do the same or better to go along with another make or two from other players, Tech will have an opportunity to pull this one out.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball