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Texas Tech basketball: Why the Red Raiders lost to TCU

By Matthew Conner

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on in the first half against the Florida Gators during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on in the first half against the Florida Gators during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

In the Texas Tech basketball team’s 64-55 loss to TCU on Tuesday, the box score makes it clear why the Red Raiders lost.

If TCU head coach Jamie Dixon were to have been asked to write the perfect script for a win over the Texas Tech basketball team, it would have looked exactly what transpired Tuesday night in Fort Worth.  In the 56-54 Horned Frog win, just about everything went TCU’s way.

That’s not to suggest that TCU caught a ton of breaks.  In reality, the Frogs manufactured just about everything that they got.  Chris Beard was quick to point that out when he was asked in the postgame press conference about TCU supposedly matching hit team’s level of effort and intensity.

"“No, they didn’t match it,” Beard said adamantly.  “They were tougher than us tonight.  There wasn’t anything matching about that…They were the tougher team tonight.  It wasn’t close.”"

When asking how TCU would be able to take down the No. 18 Red Raiders, one likely would have said that they had to have a huge game from their star, Desmond Bane.  They got that and more as the senior guard was incredible with 27 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

We also would have thought that TCU would need to dominate inside.  That was also what transpired as the Frogs saw their center Kevin Samuel have his way with the smaller Red Raiders to the tune of 11 points, 11 rebounds, and seven offensive boards.

It would have been safe to assume that a role player would have had to step up for Dixon’s team as well.  That’s what reserve guard Diante Smith did.  Coming in with an average of just 3.2 points per game, he had eight points and three rebounds.  It was just his third game this season with eight or more points.

It all added up to the first win ever for TCU over a ranked Red Raider team.  What’s more, it was the first time this year that we could not point to any legitimate excuse or reason for a Red Raider loss.

The three-game losing streak in non-conference play came with the team’s leading scorer, Jahmi’us Ramsey, missing all or parts of each game.  Then, the back-to-back Big 12 losses to Baylor and West Virginia were against top 25 teams.  After the Baylor game, we could just point to a random poor shooting night at the line and 3-point arc by the Red Raiders and in Morgantown, Terrence Shannon Jr. was unable to play with a back injury.

There were no excuses Tuesday night.  Texas Tech simply got its tail kicked.

"“I thought they were the more aggressive team tonight,” Beard said.  “I thought Bane was fantastic, one of my favorite players in the Big 12…They were the more aggressive team defensively so definitely they outplayed us in a 40-minute game tonight.”"

So let’s go inside the box score, and be forewarned, it’s an ugly sight.  As we do, it will be more than clear why the Red Raiders were dominated by the Horned Frogs.

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