Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: Five best-case scenarios for 2020-21

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders stand on the court during a timeout during the second half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats on January 25, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders stand on the court during a timeout during the second half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats on January 25, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
Jan 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Ashton Hagans (0) works the ball around Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Kevin McCullar (15) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Ashton Hagans (0) works the ball around Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Kevin McCullar (15) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Close games become victories

Last season, Tech played eight contests that either went to OT or were decided by five points or less. They lost every one of them.

Certainly, closing games was Tech’s biggest weakness in 2019-20 and that has to change this year.  Beard knows that and you can bet there’s a tremendous emphasis within the program on sealing the deal.

More from Wreck'Em Red

The good news is that this roster is far better suited to come up with key plays late in games.  That’s because the 2020-21 Red Raiders are a more versatile offensive team than the 2019-20 Red Raiders were.

Last season, Tech’s three top guards were Ramsey, Moretti, and Edwards.  Each was known primarily as a 3-point shooter.  None was considered a threat off the bounce.

Thus, when it came time to make key plays in the closing minutes of one-possession games, Tech often looked disjointed and on several occasions (against Kentucky in Lubbock, at Oklahoma State, and at Baylor), the Red Raiders didn’t even get a decent shot off when the game was on the line.

That shouldn’t be as much of a problem this year.  Newcomers like McClung and Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton are ball-dominant players known for getting most of their offense off the dribble.  Meanwhile, forward Joel Ntambwe, a 2019-20 transfer from UNLV who sat out last year, is a matchup nightmare given his ability to create offense with the dribble at 6-foot-8.

Tech could even decide to throw the ball into the post and let Santos-Silva go to work on the blocks.  He has a back-to-the-basket game that no Red Raider in recent memory has possessed and that will give Beard another quality option when things are tight.

So far in the Beard era, Tech is just 12-19 in games the went to overtime or which were decided by five points or fewer.  But when you look at the best season he’s ever had in those contests, 2018-19 (when Tech went 7-2) there was a clear-cut closer on the roster in Keenan Evans.

Hopefully this year another closer will emerge and prove to be a leader when games are tight.  Should that happen, this will be another special Texas Tech basketball season.

Chris Beard's best regular-season wins. light. More

Home/Texas Tech Basketball