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Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders beat Iowa State

ByMatthew Conner|
AMES, IA - JANUARY 9: Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders takes a shot as Solomon Young #33 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 9, 2021 in Ames, Iowa. The Texas Tech Red Raiders won 91-64 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - JANUARY 9: Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders takes a shot as Solomon Young #33 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 9, 2021 in Ames, Iowa. The Texas Tech Red Raiders won 91-64 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 06: Guard Jamarius Burton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders handles the ball during the first half of the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 06: Guard Jamarius Burton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders handles the ball during the first half of the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Tech benefitted from bench domination

It’s somewhat unusual for Beard to still be tinkering with his starting lineup five games into Big 12 play but that’s what he’s been doing.  And on Saturday, he once again brought his second-leading scorer, Terrence Shannon Jr., off the bench.  As a result, Tech had a huge edge in bench scoring and that helped bury the Cyclones.

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Thanks in large part to Shannon’s 11 points, Tech received 27 points from the bench.  Meanwhile, Iowa State’s bench scored just six points.

This was the second-straight game in which Shannon has come off the bench.  In those two outings, he’s averaged 16.5 points per game, which is three points over his season average.

But what he did best on Saturday was not putting the ball in the bucket but rather getting others involved.  With a team-high six assists, the sophomore set a new career-high.

Also helping Tech’s bench dominate the game was the best showing of the year from Jamarius Burton.  The VCU transfer guard scored nine points on 4-8 shooting.  That was one point off of his season-high and his highest-scoring game in Big 12 play.

Moving forward, look for Burton’s minutes and his role to increase now that freshman guard Nimari Burnett has left the program.  On Saturday, Burton saw 23 minutes of action, which was his most since playing 31 against Oklahoma.  Hopefully, as his role expands, so too will his impact.  This game was a great start in that regard.

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