Texas Tech basketball: Individual matchups to watch vs. Texas

McClung vs. Coleman

This is a Texas team that features three guards who can each take over a game.  But it all comes back to Matt Coleman for the Longhorns.  At 13.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, he’s one of the best all-around guards in the Big 12 and his battle with Mac McClung tonight should be fun to watch (though expect Kevin McCullar to spend plenty of time checking Coleman defensively).

Both Coleman and McClung are at times prone to falling in love with the fancy dribble but both are the offensive catalysts for their respective team.  And neither has met a tough shot that he didn’t think he could make.  In a game that could go down to the final few possessions, these two closers could play a huge role.

Coleman and McClung are both going to play the point guard role for their teams when the game is on the line.  Both are excellent free-throw shooters, both can create for others using the dribble, and both can get to the rim seemingly at will.  It isn’t hard to envision this turning into a game of “top this” should tonight’s affair be tight down the stretch.

For his career, Coleman has been up-and-down when facing Texas Tech.  In seven career games, he’s failed to score in double figures three times.  However, he put up 20 on Tech in the 2018 Big 12 Tournament and he’s had games of 17 and 16 points in recent years.

There’s no question that Coleman is the head of the snake in Austin.  And when the game is on the line, he will be who has the ball in his hands.  That same goes for McClung and whichever of these dynamic guards makes the plays down the stretch will be the one that leads his team to a win.