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Texas Tech basketball: Five things Tech must improve upon

By Andrew Gleinser

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders sits on the bench during the second half of the college basketball game against the Incarnate Word Cardinals at United Supermarkets Arena on December 29, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders sits on the bench during the second half of the college basketball game against the Incarnate Word Cardinals at United Supermarkets Arena on December 29, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 29: Guard Mac McClung #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders greets coaches before the college basketball game against the Incarnate Word Cardinals at United Supermarkets Arena on December 29, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 29: Guard Mac McClung #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders greets coaches before the college basketball game against the Incarnate Word Cardinals at United Supermarkets Arena on December 29, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Finding Offense Aside from McClung

When he’s taking good shots, Mac McClung is an electric player. He can drive and finish at the rim as good as any Tech player since Keenan Evans, and he can shoot the deep ball as well. But it’s been a struggle to score points at times when he’s not on the court, which was even more glaring after he fouled out against Oklahoma State.

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Kyler Edwards has been wildly inconsistent but had a solid game on Saturday with 18 points. Terrence Shannon has shown the ability to be an impact player, and Kevin McCullar‘s involvement is key for this team. Someone aside from McClung has to be able to step up and spark the offense because he won’t always be able to do it.

Perhaps the key isn’t to find another 10-point per-game scorer but rather for several players to give the Red Raiders an extra two or three buckets per game than they have.  That’s especially true of those players coming off the bench.

While Edwards was a spark as a reserve on Saturday, Tech got nine points from the other four players that came off the bench.  That included none from Micah Peavy, who has seen his offensive performance lag as the competition has ramped up in recent weeks.  In fact, he’s been shut out in the last two conference games.

Though he’s been in the starting lineup in recent games, Jamarius Burton plays about as many minutes as a backup.  But for the amount of time he’s seen on the court, he’s not been a positive force for the offense as he has averaged just 2.6 p.p.g. in league play.

But however it happens, this team needs more consistent offense from players other than McClung and Shannon.  The former especially is being asked to shoulder too much of the offensive load and that can’t continue as Big 12 play progresses.

More. Chris Beard's best press conferences. light

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