UT’s Jones had just two points in the second half
The biggest reason Tech was able to climb all the way back was the fact that Andrew Jones had just two points in the second half. That was remarkable being as the sharp-shooting guard seemingly couldn’t miss in the first half on his way to 18 points.
I don’t know exactly what Tech did from a strategic perspective to shut Jones down. I haven’t re-watched the game yet.
But it did seem to be quite a point of emphasis to stay in closer proximity to UT’s leading scorer. In the first half, he was able to get open for 10 shot attempts (6 of them being from 3-point range) while after the break, he took only one shot, which he missed.
In other words, this wasn’t a case of Tech benefitting from Jones cooling off during the intermission. Rather, it was an instance when the Red Raiders simply made it a point to keep Jones from getting the ball in position to score.
Jones was also unable to get to the free-throw line, which isn’t surprising given that he’s primarily a catch-and-shoot scorer. He had only two free-throw attempts on the game, both coming early in the second half.
Tech has been known for halftime adjustments under Beard. In fact, against Kansas State last week, Nigel Pack (who has a similar offensive game to Jones) scored 15 points in the opening stanza but had just two after the break.
But however Tech did it from a strategic perspective, it was important for the Red Raiders to put the clamps on Jones in the second half. That’s because it appeared for a while like he was going to shoot Tech right out of Austin.