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Texas Tech basketball: Plenty has changed since first meeting with Texas

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Jahmi'us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders blocks a shot by Courtney Ramey #3 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Jahmi'us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders blocks a shot by Courtney Ramey #3 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 08: Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns is fouled while shooting by TJ Holyfield #22 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 08: Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns is fouled while shooting by TJ Holyfield #22 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

T.J. Holyfield is not playing at the same level

When the first meeting of these teams took place, Tech’s senior forward T.J. Holyfield was in the midst of his best stretch of the year.  In fact, he entered that game having scored 17 points per game and blocked 3.6 shots per game over his three prior contests.

Remarkably, in Austin, he had his most memorable outing of the year despite scoring just two points.  That’s because he blocked a season-high five shots, including three in the final minute to help his team preserve a one-score lead.

He followed that game up with a 10-point, three-block, three-rebound game against TCU, his fourth double-digit scoring game in his last five.  But as round two between the Raiders and Horns arrives, he’s not playing at that level anymore.

In his last four games, he’s averaged 7.2 points, three rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.  In that span, he’s had just one double-digit scoring game and four of his seven blocks came in the 30-point win at Iowa State.

It isn’t that Holyfield has been playing poorly but he hasn’t been a dominant force.  Perhaps that changes Saturday because Texas will be without its star forward Jericho Sims, who is out for the season.

In recent games, Holyfield has lost a bit of the aggressiveness that he displayed on both ends of the floor when he was Tech’s best player for the stretch of about two weeks earlier this month.  Here’s hoping this rematch with Texas is a spark that brings about that type of stretch from him once again and that it carries him deep into March.

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