Texas Tech basketball: Hidden moments that cost Tech the Kentucky game

UK’s Johnny Juzang hits a rare 3-pointer

Being that Tech doesn’t play Kentucky but once every generation, Red Raider fans aren’t all that familiar with the Wildcat roster.  That’s why the 3-pointer that freshman Johnny Juzang hit to put the Wildcats up 58-50 probably doesn’t stand out to many people.

But what if I told you that the Los Angeles native is just a 19% shooter from behind the arc?  Would that change the way you view that basket?  Yeah, me too.

Making it even more frustrating is the fact that the bucket came as a result of an offensive rebound.  When UK missed a runner in the lane, Kevin McCullar, Jahmi’us Ramsey, and Chris Clarke were all in rebounding position.

But Ramsey and Clarke got caught just watching that ball rather than making a play for it.  Meanwhile, McCullar didn’t put his rear into Nick Richards and push him out of the lane as every middle school player is taught when learning the game.

As a result, Richards was able to tap the ball up and keep it alive.  In the ensuing scrum, the ball made its way to Juzang in the corner for a wide-open look as three Red Raider defenders were caught flat-footed in the lane.

Of course, one of the worst 3-point shooters on one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the nation drained the shot.  Entering the game, Juzang had only made three of his 19 attempts from behind the arc on the season.

He made Tech pay on this play though.  At the time that we saw the ball go in, we were frustrated because it was another basket the Red Raiders had allowed off of an offensive rebound.  But had we known at the time how rare it is for Juzang to make a long-range shot, we would have been tearing our hair out.