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Texas Tech basketball: 3 keys for Red Raiders against Tennessee

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Forward Bryson Williams #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders handles the ball during the first half of the college basketball game against the North Florida Ospreys at United Supermarkets Arena on November 09, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Forward Bryson Williams #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders handles the ball during the first half of the college basketball game against the North Florida Ospreys at United Supermarkets Arena on November 09, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MARCH 21: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives to the basket during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MARCH 21: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives to the basket during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Have more success against the zone

Rick Barnes isn’t stupid.  In fact, he’s one of the greatest college basketball coaches of his generation.

So of course, he’s well aware of Tech’s struggles this season against the zone defense.  That means that at times tonight, he’s going to go to that strategy and see if Tech once again has trouble defeating it.

When Providence went to the zone, that game changed in a bad way for the Red Raiders.  Tech stopped attacking the basket off the dribble and simply started playing hot potato around the perimeter with the ball before launching late in the shot clock 3-pointers.

That’s not how to bring a team out of the zone.  Rather, the best strategy is to use the dribble to break down the zone and make it move thus creating soft spots where it can be exploited.

The good news is that with McCullar, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Davion Warren, Tech has three players capable of creating offense with the bounce.  Thus, the pieces are there to properly and effectively attack a zone defense.

There is a myth that the best way to beat a zone is to shoot and make a ton of 3-pointers.  While that is certainly one way to counter a zone, that isn’t what Tech is built to do.

Instead, the Red Raiders need to use their athleticism to do two things against the zone.  First, they must penetrate it and get to the open areas.  Second, they must rebound well against it and as the zone often leads to plenty of offensive rebounding opportunities.

Tennessee doesn’t typically play a ton of zone but if they find that Tech is having success against their man-to-man defense, they won’t hesitate to see if Adams’ team has improved its zone offense since the Providence game.  If Tech has, this game could be one that is there for the taking.

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