Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders manufactured their comeback in Austin
Tech held a 14-point edge at the free-throw line
Prior to this game, we discussed how the team that was second in the Big 12 in free-throw attempts (Tech) had to dominate that area of the game against the team that shoots the fewest free throws per game in the conference (UT). But in the first half, UT shot six free throws to Tech’s one.
After the break, that changed in a huge way. In the second half, the Red Raiders were awarded 21 trips to the line while UT went just twice. That led Tech to a 14-point edge in the half.
Consider that Tech put up just 22 field goals in the second half but managed to score 43 points. That was an average of 1.9 points per shot attempted. Meanwhile, UT tried 32 field goals but scored a mere 26 points; 1.2 points per shot attempt.
The reason that Tech held a 17-point edge in the half while taking ten fewer shots was the free-throw line. Sometimes, the 3-point shot can account for such a disparity but in this game, Tech hit three in the second half while Texas made two.
What was most obvious in the second half was that every Red Raider looked to drive the ball to the basket. Meanwhile, the only Longhorn that did so with regularity was Matt Coleman, who had 10 of his 17 points after the break.
The rest of the Longhorns looked content to stand around the arc and hope that Coleman would find them for open jumpers. But if Coleman wasn’t creating, no one else in Burnt Orange was able to.
It’s fair to think that UT might have been able to get to the line a bit more in the second half had 6-foot-9 forward Jericho Sims not been saddled with foul trouble (he played only 6 minutes in the half before fouling out with over three minutes to play). Also, the fact that 6-foot-11 Kai Jones played only 1:21 of the second half before leaving the game with what looked like an ankle sprain also hurt Texas’ ability to have an inside game, which would have presumably led to more free throw attempts.
Regardless, Tech deserves credit for attacking the rim after a frustrating first half. So often, teams that find themselves in a huge hole think that the only way to get back into a game is to shoot their way back into it from deep but that’s not what Tech is built to do. By making certain to be the more aggressive team and going hard to the paint as a group, the Red Raiders earned 19 more free throws in the second half and that proved to be the difference in the game.