Texas Tech basketball: 3 positives from victory over Eastern Washington

Wednesday in Lubbock, the Texas Tech basketball team continued to do something that it has done very well during the 2021-22 season…it dominated a lesser foe.  While several major conference teams across the nation have fallen to mid or even low-major teams thus far, the Red Raiders have dominated such foes and that’s been one reason for the Red Raiders earning a place in the top 25.

In the latest win over a mid-major program, the Red Raiders raced out to a 50-27 halftime lead en route to an uneventful 78-46 win over Eastern Washington.  It was the type of showing that Tech has routinely put forth against non-major opponents this season as all eight of those wins have come by a margin of at least 13 points.

It was a balanced scoring effort for the home team, which saw 11 players score.  Four starters finished with double-digits in points including Bryson Williams and Adonis Arms who tied for the team lead with 12.

So let’s go inside this game and take a look at three positives that came about on Wednesday.  And we will begin by celebrating some improvement from a player who has been struggling as of late.

Bryson Williams takes a step in the right direction

UTEP transfer Bryson Williams has taken his share of criticism in recent weeks and it has certainly been warranted.  However, there is no reason to take any shots at the way he played against Eastern Washington.

As we already mentioned, he was the team’s co-leader in scoring and he did so in an efficient manner.  Playing only 18 minutes, he was 5-8 from the floor including 2-4 from 3-point range.  What’s more, he corraled three rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and even blocked a shot.

Now, it is fair to point out that Williams has been right at home against lesser opponents so far this year.  But against Providence, Tennessee, and Gonzaga he was a non-factor as he averaged just 5.3 points and a tick over two rebounds per game.

Can he start to play as well against big-time opponents as he has against weaker teams?  Only time will tell.  But by putting forth a solid effort on Wednesday, he at least started out on the right path towards being the type of player that this team needs him to be.  Hopefully, that translates to Big 12 play, which starts in just over a week.

Tech defends the 3-pointer well

It was clear from the moment that this game began that Eastern Washington’s hopes of an upset rested on their ability to shoot the 3-ball.  In fact, they are currently 33rd in the nation in most 3s attempted per game at 27.7 and from the get-go, they were hell-bent on letting it fly from deep.

But that plan backfired as the Eagles shot just 26.4% from deep (8-35 overall).  That’s a tremendous step in the right direction for the Red Raiders on the defensive end of the floor.

Entering the game, Tech was just 7th in the Big 12 against the 3-point shot by allowing opponents to hit at a 32.4% rate.  What’s more, four opponents had shot at least 42.9% from deep against the Red Raiders this season.

But Eastern Washington was unable to follow that script.  In fact, in the first half, when the game was essentially decided, Tech held its guest to just 5-17 shooting (29.4%) from beyond the arc, a huge factor in allowing the Red Raiders to jump out to an insurmountable lead at the intermission.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders were more selective from long distance.  They attempted just 20 3-pointers and made eight (40%).  That’s the type of game the Red Raiders want to see from the 3-point line on both ends of the floor and if it is what this team can do more often than not the rest of the way, it will be an interesting conference season in Lubbock.

No trap game

There is always a fear of a lethargic performance for teams when playing the last game before the Christmas break.  And given the opponent and the fact that the USA was only about half-full for Wednesday’s 1 pm tipoff, the elements were present for such a game for the Red Raiders.

But Tech took care of business in a big way.  This team dominated the game in every manner and never let the Eagles believe they had a shot at pulling the upset.

One area in which the Red Raiders completely embarrassed Eastern Washington was in the paint.  Outscoring the Eagles 40-4 in the lane and holding a 36-24 advantage on the glass, the bigger and more athletic Red Raiders imposed their will as they should have in this game.

Overall, Tech led for 38:18 of the 40 minutes while Eastern Washington led for just 35 seconds.  It was great to see that this team didn’t come out and lay an egg after losing its previous game to No. 5 Gonzaga and it was even better to see the Red Raiders play a crisp and relatively clean game on their way to a dominant win.