Texas Tech basketball: Individual matchups to watch vs. Texas

Edwards vs. Jones

It feels like every time I write one of these articles about individual matchups to watch, I end up including Kyler Edwards.  But that’s fitting because he truly is Tech’s X-factor.

Tonight, he will have to match the offensive output of Andrew Jones, one of the better 3-point shooters in the Big 12.  In fact, Jones is third in the Big 12 in conference games at 42.9% from beyond the arc.  That’s a huge reason why he leads the league in scoring in conference play at 18.7 p.p.g.

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We shouldn’t necessarily ask Edwards to match Jones point-for-point.  Rather, we should hope that he can at least provide 12 points or so of his own to help neutralize what Jones puts up.

What’s more, Tech fans hope to see Edwards give Tech the type of 3-point weapon that Jones is for the Horns.  That could be a huge factor in this contest.

These two teams are essentially even when it comes to 3-point shooting.  In fact, they both enter this game shooting 33.1% as a team.  The Red Raiders are averaging 18.3 long-range attempts per game while Texas is hoisting a whopping 24 per game.  Thus, if either team gets hot from outside, it could turn the tide in this contest.

After an incredibly slow start to the season from 3-point range, Jones has started to pick it up in recent weeks.  In his last four games, he’s hit 12-28 shots from deep (42.8%) and in each of those contests, he’s attempted at least six triples.

Meanwhile, Edwards is also shooting well as of late.  He’s made 10 of his last 23 attempts from long distance (43.4%).

But life for a long-range sniper is never steady, especially at the college level.  So keep an eye on these two shooting guards because either has the ability to swing this game in his team’s favor if he catches fire.