Texas Tech basketball: 5 reasons the Red Raiders lost to Providence

Providence’s zone

With Tech up 27-13 in the middle of the fist half, Providence coach Ed Cooley made a defensive change that won his team the game.  Instead of playing straight man-to-man against the athletic Red Raiders, he switched to a 3/4 court press that fell back into a 2-3 zone and it completely bogged down Adams’ team for the rest of the game.

Of the two teams, Tech was by far the more athletic.  So by going to the press and the zone, Cooley was able to change the pace of the game and turn possessions into bare-knuckle brawls and that suited his team to a T.

Remember, this year, the Red Raiders are trying to play a new style of offense.  Rather than using the motion offense preferred by the previous head coach, Adams has his team running an up-tempo style of offense that relies on quickness and athleticism to get easy shots.

And in the first ten minutes of the game, that style was running Providence out of the gym.  But when Tech had to face Providence’s stingy zone defense, problems quickly ensued.

From the point when the game was 27-13 in Tech’s favor, the Red Raiders would close the first half making just 1-13 shots from the floor while turning the ball over five times.  That allowed Providence to slowly close the gap and get back in the game.

This was not the first time this year that Tech has struggled against a zone.  But it was the first time that Tech has faced a team that could make the Red Raiders pay for not executing well against this defensive scheme.

Instead of attacking the zone’s soft spots via the pass or the drive, Tech too often played hot potato and settled for a late in-the-shot-clock three-pointer.  Overall, the Red Raiders were just 7-23 from deep and many of those attempts were long heaves to try to beat the zone as the shot clock wound down.  It was a masterful move by Cooley to make Tech play against the zone and aside from the officiating, it was the main reason this game went the way of the Friars.