Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders can beat Kentucky

Tech needs to pack the paint on defense

The next strategy is tougher to quantify than 3-point offense.  But watch today to see how compact the Red Raider defense plays inside the arc.

Remember that Kentucky is in the bottom ten nationally in both 3-point attempts and makes per game.  Thus, the overwhelming majority of their offense comes in the lane.

The Wildcats love to throw the lob to Nick Richards, their 6-foot-10 leading scorer, and they make a killing by dominating the offensive glass.  But if Tech decides to compress its defense to force more of the UK offense to come on mid-range or outside jumpers, much of the size disparity could be neutralized.

Another way that compacting the defense might be beneficial is that it will shrink the driving lanes for the Wildcat’s talented guards, especially Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey.  It will be imperative that the Red Raiders deploy their “no middle” defense perfectly today and force the Wildcats to move the ball laterally rather than in straight lines to the bucket.

In fact, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Tech throw some zone defense at the Cats as we saw Beard do for stretches against TCU on Tuesday night.  That’s not what this program is known for but it might be wise to attempt when facing a team that is a poor from 3-point range as UK is.

We often think of football as a territorial battle but in this basketball game, owning the area closest to the basket will be as imperative as owning the line of scrimmage in football.  That’s why it would be smart of Tech to use most of its resources to protect that critical spot on the court.