Texas Tech basketball: Why the Red Raiders were able to beat OU

Tech had 40 points in the paint

We have already touched on how much more aggressive Tech was in regard to getting the ball into the lane as the Red Raiders attempted seven more shots in the paint than OU.  But let’s really stop to consider how Tech’s 40-20 advantage in points in the paint helped tip the scales in this contest.

Led by the 14 points Marcos Santos-Silva got in the lane, Tech had a far easier time making baskets on the evening.  As a team, the Red Raiders shot 49.1% to OU’s 40.7%.

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That was critical on a night when Tech was again less than adequate from deep.  But to their credit, Tech didn’t continue to settle for outside shots.

Rather, time and again, the Red Raiders drove the ball to the basket and it paid off (though had the officials not had their heads up their posteriors for most of the night, it would have paid off even more handsomely).

Credit also must go to Tech’s wings and guards as they too took the ball to the bucket.  Mac McClung had four baskets in the lane while Shannon and Jamarius Burton each had three.

Typically, when a team dominates in the paint, the way Tech did on Tuesday, it’s the result of a massive offensive rebounding effort.  But in this game, Beard’s team had only seven offensive rebounds and a mere two second-chance points.

So the key was to attack off the dribble.  That was something that Tech didn’t do as well on Thursday vs. Kansas as they had just 26 points in the paint, partially because of 23 attempts from beyond the arc.  Apparently, Beard hammered home the notion that winning teams go to the basket and that’s what his squad did in Norman as they owned the area near the basket.