Texas Tech basketball: The fatal flaw that the Red Raiders must address

The Texas Tech basketball team has one fatal flaw that must be addressed if this season is going to be a success.

Today, the Texas Tech basketball team was supposed to face No. 2 Baylor in Waco for a top-10 showdown. But COVID-19 concerns within the Bears’ program have caused that game to be postponed.

Perhaps that is a blessing in disguise as the unexpected break from competition will give the Red Raiders an opportunity to focus on themselves rather than preparing for an opponent. And make no mistake, there is a fatal flaw that Tech must address in order for this season to have a chance at being special.

Until Chris Beard and his staff find a way to get their team to start defending the 3-point line with more efficiency, the Red Raiders are going to continue to be vulnerable and they will probably have a shorter run in March than we all have in mind.

In Big 12 games, Tech has been the worst team in the Big 12 when it comes to defending the 3-point shot. They are the only team allowing opponents to shoot over 40% from deep (40.7% to be exact). In an era that is seeing teams shoot more 3-pointers than ever, that is a trend that can’t continue if this team has any hopes of a sustained run in the NCAA Tournament.

That point was underscored in Tech’s most recent game, an 82-71 loss to No. 14 West Virginia in Lubbock. That night, the free-throw discrepancy (WVU had a 39-20 edge in attempts) took center stage and resulted in Chris Beard being ejected from the game but another problem was that the Red Raiders couldn’t defend the 3-point shot.

The Mountaineers shot 7-14 from deep on the evening continuing a trend that has seen the Red Raiders allow too many 3-pointers in their losses. In Tech’s six setbacks, the opponents have shot a combined 50-118 from 3-point range. That’s 42.7%.

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There was a time, not so long ago, when Tech was one of the best teams in the nation when it came to defending the 3-point line. In fact, in the 2018-19 season that ended in the national title game, Tech allowed opponents to shoot just 29.8% from deep, 13th-best in the nation.

What’s more, even last year’s somewhat disappointing team was good in that area by allowing opponents to shoot just 30.9%. But this year, that has changed for the worse.

It seems as if the newcomers, of which Tech is relying on at least five to play significant minutes, aren’t grasping what the coaching staff wants them to do when it comes to guarding the deep ball. Too often, the opposition is able to get wide-open looks because Tech is slow to cover on a switch or because the Red Raiders don’t keep track of where shooters are on the court, usually as a result of helping off of those shooters to stop dribble penetration.

It’s led to some ridiculous individual shooting efforts by opponents. For instance, West Virginia’s Sean McNeil just hit 5-7 shots from deep on his way to 26 points on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Texas’ Andrew Jones hit 4-6 from downtown when Tech traveled to Austin. Thankfully, that game wound up going Tech’s way in spite of the fact that UT shot 52% from deep and hit 13 long-range shots.

We could continue to run down the list of 3-point shooters who have taken their liberties with the Tech defense but the point is clear. This team had better start to figure out how to defend the 3-point shot or else this season could be a huge disappointment because, in March, all it takes to end your season is for one team to get hot from 3-point range.