Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders that have to step up in the postseason

TJ Holyfield has to be at his most assertive on both ends of the floor

Grad transfer TJ Holyfield came to Texas Tech to experience a March the likes of the last two that this program has produced.  However, if he doesn’t play at his most assertive level possible on both ends of the floor, his March with the Red Raiders could be short.

It’s tough to understand why Holyfield has been prone to bouts of passivity this year.  That’s because when he is at his best, he is one of the most aggressive players on the team, both offensively and defensively.

Tech must have a confident and assertive Holyfield if there is any hope of a March run to remember in 2020.  That’s because his ability to hit shots away from the goal opens up the lane for his teammates because it pulls opposing big men away from the paint.

He’s also his team’s best rim-protector on defense.  At times this year, he’s shown an uncanny ability to dominate a game with his help-side defense as he did in the victory in Austin when he was Tech’s most important player despite scoring only two points.  That afternoon, his five blocks (including three in the final thirty seconds), helped the Red Raiders preserve a one-score win in the closing moments of the game, a time when this year’s team has been suspect at best.

But in the last four games, Holyfield’s scoring has fallen to just seven points per game (almost two below his season average) and he’s pulled down just 2.4 rebounds per game (also two below his season average).   The good news is that he had 11 points and three blocks against Kansas in the regular-season finale so there’s hope he’s about to get hot.

Twelve times this year, Holyfield has scored in double-digits.  In those games, Tech is 8-4.  But for some reason, Holyfield passes up more open shots from the perimeter than any player on the roster and when he does, the offense sputters more than a refurbished 1975 Ford Pinto.  That can’t happen anymore this season.

If the Red Raiders are going to maximize their potential and make noise in march for the third-straight year, Holyfield has to be a factor on both ends of the floor.  Chris Beard brought him here to be a leader and now that the postseason has arrived, it’s time for this senior to be the player that this team has been asking him to be all year long.  We’ve seen it in flashes and hopefully, March will bring about another of those streaks from Holyfield.