Texas Tech basketball: 3 reasons Red Raiders were able to take down Texas

Texas Tech owned the paint

There was a time when it seemed as if Texas would dominate the paint just about every time the Horns and Red Raiders squared off.  But in 2021-22, the Red Raiders have been the far more assertive and powerful team in the lane.

On Saturday, Tech held a 26-10 lead in points in the paint and a 45-36 edge in the rebounding department.  Both stats would prove to be key.

Don’t overlook the work of Marcus Santos-Silva off of the Tech bench.  In 20 minutes of action, he would score six points and grab a team-high eight points.  Additionally, almost all of Bryson Williams’ offensive production came near the bucket as he was 0-1 from three-point range.  What’s more, he also pulled down six rebounds, tied for third-most of any player in the game for either team.

It was the second time this season that Tech has won the battle in the paint against Texas.  Back on February 1st, the Red Raiders outscored UT 30-24 in the lane and they won the rebounding battle 37-28.

Also, though they aren’t part of the points in the paint stat, don’t forget the work Tech did at the line on Saturday.  Making 20-29 free throws (64.2%), Tech again made more free throws than the opponent shot.  On Saturday, Texas was 13-17 at the line.

That too is a stat that proved to go Tech’s way in the first meeting between these teams this season.  That night, Tech was 21-30 at the line while UT was 14-19.

In games that are as tightly contested as Saturday’s was, especially those that see 43 total fouls called, owning a significant edge at the line and in the lane is key.  Fortunately, that’s what the Red Raiders were able to do in Austin.