Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders took apart Iowa State

Tech had a 24-point edge in the paint

Wasn’t it refreshing to see Tech play lights-out on offense without being unconscious from 3-point range?  All year long, this team has struggled when the 3-pointers have not been falling at a rate that significantly exceeds the season average.

Saturday though, Tech was just 6-16 (37.5%) from deep while surpassing the 80-point plateau for the 4th time in Big 12 play.  The key was points in the paint.

Tech outscored ISU 46-22 in the paint as Beard’s team attacked the rim with impunity.  Meanwhile, ISU wasn’t as dogged in their efforts to get points inside as they frequently resorted to runners and floaters from short-range rather than attempting to finish with a layup in traffic as Tech so often did.

In the official game box score, Tech is shown to have been a perfect 13-13 from inside the restricted area.  Meanwhile, Iowa State was just 4-7.  Between there and the foul line, Tech was 10-18 while ISU was 7-17.

Jahmi’us Ramsey was fantastic in that regard.  He was credited with six baskets in the restricted area, which is a place on the floor where he’s frequently struggled to convert this season.

Meanwhile, all three of Terence Shannon Jr.’s buckets came inside the restricted area as did at least three of Kyler Edwards’.  That’s important because at some point, the 3-pointer fails every team but offense in the paint is always there to be had through effort and grit.

For most of our lives, points in the paint have been a measure of a basketball team’s big men and their ability to score.  However, in the modern age when big men spread the floor and opening up driving lanes, guards are accounting for more and more of their team’s scoring in the lane.  And as we saw on Saturday when Tech’s guards were relentless in their storming of the basket, that can be just as deadly as having a dominant post player.