Texas Tech basketball: Hidden moments in Red Raiders win over Sooners

Santos-Silva beats the shot clock

Marcus Santos-Silva also had a fantastic day against the Sooners.  With 18 points and 7 rebounds, he rebounded after he was held without a point against Kansas.

But one particular play of his might have gotten lost in the shuffle of his flurry of first-half baskets.  With 6:14 to go and Tech leading just 23-21, the senior found the ball in his hands had with only three seconds remaining on the shot clock.

Fortunately, he didn’t panic and simply hoist up a jump shot, which is not his forte.  Rather, he gave the defender, Kur Kuath, a pump fake, which drew Kuath off of the floor and allowed Santos-Silva to drive to the lane where he hit a layup to beat the shot clock.

What stands out about this play is the shot fake.  In all honesty, no player should ever go for such a fake by Santos-Silva given that he doesn’t ever intend to shoot a jumper from outside the lane.  However, Kuath forgot about the scouting report on this play and allowed himself to be faked out of his shoes.

Quite often this year as the offense has attempted to find its groove, Beard’s team has found itself playing a game of beat the clock and typically the results are not all that positive.  But this time, Santos-Silva used a veteran move to score two points when it looked like Tech might be in for an empty possession, and in a game decided by two points, every bucket loomed large.