The Texas Tech basketball team dispatched Grambling 81-40 on Sunday in Lubbock so let’s look at the good, bad, and ugly from yet another Red Raider win.
They aren’t all going to be masterpieces. That’s certainly a truth that we were reminded of yet again on Sunday when the Texas Tech basketball team played a rather ugly first half against Grambling before snapping out of its offensive funk in an 81-40 win.
"“In the first half, we were as frustrated as we’ve been,” said Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard. “Only equal by the Houston game the first half and so you’ve got to get Grambling a lot of credit. It’s not like we’re out there trying not to play well but I thought Grambling has a great game plan it forced us into some mistakes in the first half especially.”"
But while we have almost come to expect this program to look next to flawless when facing teams such a Grambling, teams that the No. 17 team in the nation should have no trouble in dismantling, there is always benefit to be taken from struggling. And one such benefit on Sunday was that Tech had to rely on its defense to win a game, especially in the first 15 minutes of action.
As basketball fans, we are naturally inclined to gravitate towards what happens on the offensive side of the game. But during the Beard era, Red Raider fans have come to appreciate what happens on the other end of the court.
That’s why there was plenty of positives to be found in Sunday’s effort, despite the uneven offensive showing out of the gates.
While the Red Raiders were busy missing 12 of their first 14 shots, they didn’t let Grambling get the advantage. In fact, they almost didn’t let Grambling get a shot off.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Beard saw his team force seven turnovers. Meanwhile, during that same timeframe, Grambling put up just seven shots. That’s a fantastic ratio for a defense.
That effort set the tone for the entire game. In all, the Tigers managed to hoist just 37 shots while turning the ball over 30 times. Included in that defensive effort were 13 steals and seven blocked shots.
It was the type of defensive performance that we’ve come to expect from this program but one we shouldn’t take for granted because not every team is going to be locked in night-after-night on that end of the floor. In fact, by allowing just 84.9 points per every 100 possessions thus far, Tech sits atop the KenPom.com adjusted defensive efficiency ratings for the entire NCAA.
Thus, we weren’t surprised to see the defense carry the day again on Sunday. But there were a few surprises from the Scarlet and Black so let’s go inside the latest Red Raider victory by taking a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Tech’s fourth win of the season.