Texas Tech basketball: 3 key matchups to watch as Tech hosts Kansas

McClung vs. Garrett

The marquee individual matchup in this game will pit Texas Tech’s best offensive player, Mac McClung against Marcus Garrett of Kansas, who many believe might be the best perimeter defender in the nation.

The 6-foot-5 Kansas senior has long been a dominant defender and as such, you can bet he will spend most of his night chasing McClung all over the court.  That’s not great news for McClung, who has struggled as of late despite facing lesser competition.

After averaging 18.5 points in his first four games of the year, the Georgetown transfer has put up just 8.3 per game in his last three outings.  What’s more, in each of his last two games, he’s failed to reach double digits on the score sheet.

What’s really let McClung down lately has been his 3-point shot.  After starting the season out on fire from deep, he’s hit just two of his last ten attempts from beyond the arc.

Thus far, Tech has played seven games.  In four of them, McClung has hit at least two 3-pointers.  Tech’s average score in those games was 86.5.  In the three games in which McClung has been shutout from long distance, the team has averaged just 60.3 points.

But of course, McClung is more than just a 3-point shooter.  He is also Tech’s pseudo point guard as the offense often depends on his ability to facilitate for others as well as score.  He’s averaging 3.1 assists per game, which is second on the team.  That means that he has to be able to take care of the basketball and make the offense easier for his teammates by setting them up for open looks.

There’s quite a bit of burden on McClung’s shoulders and tonight, he has to be at his best against one of the best individual defensive players in the nation.  If he can look more like the player that we saw in the season’s first two weeks than the player we’ve seen in the last two, it will bode well for the Red Raiders’ chances of taking down KU tonight.