Stop turning the ball over
We’ve already touched on this but the Texas Tech basketball team’s recent struggles when it comes to holding onto the basketball are worth a deeper exploration. That’s because, until the Red Raiders stop giving the ball away so frequently, their fortunes aren’t likely to change.
We don’t have to look far to see examples of how this team’s propensity for turning the ball over has been a huge factor in the recent struggles. In fact, we have to only look back to the team’s last two losses.
Against Oklahoma State, the Red Raiders were up 49-39 with 9:48 to play as the Cowboys were on the ropes. But instead of landing a knockout blow and putting the game out of reach, Tech would proceed to turn the ball over on its next four possessions allowing Oklahoma State remain in the game. It was part of a run that saw Mark Adams’ team give the ball away six times in the final ten minutes of the game allowing the Cowboys to claw their way back and eventually prevail.
In Fort Worth, when Tech lost to TCU 69-66, it was late-game turnovers that doomed the Red Raiders. Trailing by just two points in the final minute, Tech would turn the ball over on back-to-back possessions as the Red Raiders failed to get off shots at the game’s most critical junctures. Those were the two most damaging of Tech’s 20 turnovers in that game.
This team has a propensity for trying to make the spectacular play and it often leads to a giveaway. What’s more, the lack of a true point guard, a factor only exaggerated by the absence of McCullar, makes Tech rather turnover prone, and that has cost this team in recent weeks. Until that changes, the postseason may not be the magical run that we all envision.