Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: What we hope the new coach does better than Chris Beard

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 04: The Texas Tech Red Raiders huddle during a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Iowa State Cyclones at United Supermarkets Arena on March 04, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 04: The Texas Tech Red Raiders huddle during a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Iowa State Cyclones at United Supermarkets Arena on March 04, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Jan 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general overview of the United Supermarkets Arena before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kentucky Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general overview of the United Supermarkets Arena before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kentucky Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Win close games

You would think that a coach who has had as much success as Beard has had would be rather adept at helping his teams pull out close games. But unfortunately for Texas Tech over the past five years, Beard has been woefully inept in crunch time of tight games.

This year, the Red Raiders were 0-6 in games that either went to overtime or which were decided by two points or fewer.  That included the 68-66 loss to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, that’s a trend that was problematic throughout Beard’s tenure.  In his five years, Beard was merely 4-9 in games that went to OT.   What’s more, in games decided by one basket, he was just 9-16 overall.

So what went so wrong for Beard in the clutch?  Usually, it was a lack of creativity when it came to drawing up plays.  Outside of when he had point guard Keenan Evans as his closer and he could let Evans simply break people down off the dribble, Beard seemed unable to draw up imaginative ways to get his team good looks when the game was on the line.

That’s likely a byproduct of relying so heavily on the motion offense for so much of his career as the principles of that system (patience, ball movement, working the shot clock) don’t really translate well to the final possession of the game, especially when the final possession begins with only a handful of seconds left on the game clock.

Life in the Big 12 is perilous and blowouts against good teams are rare.  Rather, it’s often just one or two possessions that decide the victor, and time and again, Beard’s teams at Tech came up short in the most important of moments.  Here’s hoping that changes with a new coaching staff in place.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball