Texas Tech basketball: Players that need to step up against Iowa State

https://twitter.com/TexasTechMBB/status/1156302198088880131?s=20

Jahmi’us Ramsey

It feels like freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey is due for a huge game against the Cyclones.  That’s because he’s looked like a true freshman in the last two games, something we haven’t said of him hardly at all this year.  It seems hard to believe that he will have a third-straight less-than-mediocre game by his standards, especially against the team that gives up the most points per game in the Big 12.

Two games ago, he mustered just eight points on 3-14 shooting against West Virginia.  The only time thus far in his Red Raider career that he’s had fewer points in a game came against Iowa on Thanksgiving night when he had just seven points before leaving with an injury early in the second half.

Tuesday night, he was able to score just 10 points, 6.2 below his season average, on 4-12 shooting.  What’s more, in his last two games, he’s hit just two of his nine looks from 3-point range.

We talked earlier this week about how important it will be for Ramsey to become more of a finisher at the rim and stop relying so heavily on his outside shot.  Let’s see today how often he goes to the bucket off the bounce and whether he can convert when he meets resistance at the goal.

He’s facing off with ISU’s star point guard Tyreese Haliburton, who is No. 6 in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.8 p.p.g., one spot behind Ramsey in that category.  ISU’s leading scorer is also coming off one of his worst games of the year so both will be anxious to have a big bounce-back effort.  If either of those two players has a considerable edge over the other, it could be a significant factor in how this game turns out.