Texas Tech basketball: What we know about the Red Raiders so far

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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 06: Guard Reyhan Cobb #4 of the Grambling State Tigers handles the ball against guard Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

The defense is elite

When looking at advanced defensive metrics, it’s no shock to see the Texas Tech basketball team near the top of the rankings. That’s the case again this year as the Tech defense is proving to be elite, especially on the perimeter.

So far, Tech is no. 1 in the KenPom.com Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rankings, which is an estimate of how many points a team allows per 100 possessions. This is a useful stat because it takes out of the equation a team’s pace of play, an element of the game that can skew statistics.

At this point, Beard’s team is allowing just 85.2 points per 100 possessions. That’s a fantastic number and it leads the NCAA.

Last year’s team was a solid defensive unit but it gave up 90.5 points per 100 possessions. That was good for 9th nationally.

Meanwhile, the 2018-19 team that came within a whisker of winning it all gave up 84.1 points per 100 possessions. That was a record for any team since Ken Pom started tracking that stat back in 2002. The takeaway here is that Tech is closer to being at the level of the 2018-19 team than it was last year…much closer.

Even in Tech’s two losses, the defense showed up. Houston managed to score just 64 points while Kansas mustered only 58. Respectively, those two teams are averaging 77 and 78.7 points per game.

What’s impressive is that Tech is playing such excellent defense with so many new players in the mix. In fact, only two of the top eight players on the team in terms of minutes played were on last year’s team. So just think about what this defense has the potential to be once it truly gels.

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