Texas Tech basketball: Players to watch tonight vs. Abilene Christian

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Dec 6, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Marcus Santos-Silva (14) slam dunks the ball against the Grambling State Tigers in the first half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

How will Santos-Silva look when facing a 7-foot center?

Though he isn’t a potential All-American or even likely a Big 12-caliber athlete, Kolton Kohl is going to be the first legitimate 7-footer Tech has faced this year and it will be interesting to see how Marcus Santos-Silva handles him.

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Remember, Santos-Silva is only 6-foot-7. But he has experience guarding taller players on the blocks where he uses his 254-pound frame to play positional defense similar to what we used to see out of Norense Odiase.

So the first place we’ll be watching Santos-Silva tonight is on defense as this game could give us an idea of how he will stack up against true big men in the Big 12. But also, Tech needs him to reassert himself on offense.

After reaching double digits in each of the first two games of the year, he’s yet to score more than eight points in a game since. What’s more, in his last three outings, he’s averaged just 5 points per game.

It seems like teams have already figured out that the lefty simply isn’t going to shoot the ball unless he’s right at the rim. Thus, they are backing off of him and packing the lane to try to neutralize what he does best, which is score with his back to the basket.

Tech needs the offense that Santos-Silva can provide in the post this year. So let’s see if he can be a force tonight when playing against a bigger center. Though Kohl isn’t going to be as tough as the bigs we will see Tech encounter in league play, he will give us a look at what Santos-Silva can do against someone who has a true height advantage against him.

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