Texas Tech basketball: Scouting the West Virginia mountaineers

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General view of Esa Ahmad #23 of the West Virginia Mountaineers (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

WVU gets to the line frequently but doesn’t shoot well

It is fair to say that by going 5-12 in a 5-point loss to Baylor, Texas Tech lost Tuesday night’s game at the free-throw line. That will be an area to watch again today because that’s been a huge component of what the Mountaineers and Red Raiders want to do.

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There are only two teams in the Big 12 that have attempted more than 300 free throws this year. They will both be on the floor today in Morgantown.

WVU has attempted 330 and Tech has attempted 306. But that’s where the similarities end.

That’s because, when it comes to free-throw percentage, these teams find themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Tech is shooting 74.8% even after Tuesday’s disaster and that is good for second in the Big 12. WVU knocks down their foul shots just 65.2% of the time, only 8th-best in the Big 12.

As you likely expect, the two big men get to the line the most but neither is particularly great at taking advantage. Culver has attempted 69 free throws but hit just 66.7% while Tshiebwe has shot 65 and made 63.1%.

One has to wonder if Tech might try to utilize some of its bench today for the sake of hacking the WVU big men. Perhaps Russell Tchewa and Andrei Savrasov will be called upon to give the Red Raiders ten extra fouls as much as anything else.

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The Red Raiders have to walk a delicate balance today when deciding whether or not to hack the WVU big men. Tech can’t afford for forward T.J. Holyfield to foul out but if one of the Red Raider guards, especially those coming off the bench, have an opportunity to send either Culver or Tshiebwe to the line rather than giving up an easy bucket, it might be wise to do so because that’s an area where the Mountaineers have been rather poor.

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