Texas Tech basketball: What has to change in rematch with OK State

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Jan 2, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Tyreek Smith (10) blocks a shot by Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (12) in the first half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Tech has to play a better first half

One theme of this season has been that the Texas Tech basketball team seems almost incapable of playing a strong first half of basketball. That was the case in the first meeting with OK State when Tech played one of its worst 20 minutes of basketball this season to open the game.

That night, Tech faced deficits of 10-4, 20-10, and 33-23 on the way to a halftime score of 37-28 in favor of the road team. And looking at that first-half box score, it wasn’t hard to figure out where Tech went wrong.

Shooting just 8-29 (27.6%) overall, Tech got off to an awful shooting start. Part of that was due to poor ball movement as the Red Raiders had only six assists in that half while committing six turnovers. A 1:1 assist: turnover ratio is never going to get it done.

But playing poorly in the first half of games has been a problem all year for the Red Raiders. They trailed Houston 37-19 at the break, they fell behind Texas 48-38 at intermission in Austin, they scored only 18 points in the first half against Baylor to trail that game by 8 points after 20 minutes, and most recently, on Saturday, they scored only 25 points against Kansas in the first half to trail that game by seven points after one half of play.

Continually digging out of first-half holes against quality teams is no way to live. In fact, it is a recipe for a loss. Tonight, it will be imperative that Tech gets off to a better start against Oklahoma State than they did last month in Lubbock when the Pokes jumped out to a comfortable first-half lead, a cushion that helped propel them to an upset victory.

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