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Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders can beat Kentucky

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Texas Tech Red Raiders fans cheer prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Texas Tech Red Raiders fans cheer prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Guard Jahmi’us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Guard Jahmi’us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Don’t get dominated on the glass

No one expects Tech to outrebound Kentucky.  The Cats are 34th nationally in rebound margin at +6 per game.

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But can the Red Raiders compete well enough in that aspect of the game to keep from being dominated?  That’s been what has determined this team’s success or lack thereof so far.

Against Louisville, which also had a tremendous size edge, Tech actually won the battle on the boards 40-38.  Likewise, at Kansas State, the Red Raiders had the edge 31-23 and matched KSU’s 17 offensive boards.

But in losses to Baylor, West Virginia, and TCU, Tech lost the rebound battle by an average of 13 per game.  What’s more, in those games, the Red Raiders surrendered 13.3 offensive boards.

Today, if Tech can keep within five rebounds of UK, they will have a fantastic shot at winning.  That’s going to require the Red Raiders to plug back into their street dog mentality and be the fist to the floor for all loose balls and to rebound like a pack of wolves.  Trying to win individual rebounding battles likely won’t get it done.

Thus far, the Wildcats have lost four games.  In three of them, they lost the rebounding battle and in the other, they were even with their opponent.  That should tell us all we need to know about how critical that aspect of the game is to Big Blue Nation.

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One player that has to be better in this regard is T.J. Holyfield.  He had just two total rebounds against TCU and that’s not going to be good enough from Tech’s primary big man ever, but especially this evening.  If he and his teammates can keep from being overwhelmed on the glass today, they can keep Kentucky at bay and find a path to victory.

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