Well, the first half against the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils isn’t exactly going all that well for the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders! Quite frankly, it’s been a little bit of a disaster. While the Red Raiders started off strong against Duke, it’s been clear that the Texas Tech men’s basketball team is a bit outmatched in this game so far.
It’s 36-36 in Duke’s favor, but it feels so much worse than just a 10 point difference between these two teams.
I’ve got a few thoughts.
I’ve also found a few concerning stats. We’ll focus on those for now. Here’s three incredibly concerning stats from the first half against Duke.
Texas Tech has been truly brutal when it comes to hitting shots from three-point range
I don’t know of any better way to illustrate just how frustrating this game has been other than to point to the mess that has happened in the way that the Red Raiders have been absolutely abysmal in shooting from beyond the arc.
I mean, it’s been awful for the Red Raiders. And Duke has been able to take advantage of that. Which is not good!
Texas Tech has made just one shot from three-point range! Just one! One shot from deep. That’s a problem! And it wouldn’t be as alarming if the Red Raiders hadn’t attempted NINE three pointers. We’re looking at a 1-for-9 shooting mark from three-point range for Texas Tech from the first half.
That’s, uh, concerning.
And when you combine that with the fact that Duke has been efficient and effective and has made 7-of-14 from deep, then things get really worrying for Texas Tech’s chances to come away with an upset win in this game.
Duke’s bench production is putting Texas Tech to shame right now
Through the first half, Texas Tech’s bench hasn’t exactly done all that much for the Red Raiders. It’s been a bit of a concern in multiple games so far and it’s truly alarming in this one in that the Texas Tech bench has just six points. A half dozen. That’s it.
That’s not good.
And again, this is an area in which the Blue Devils are thriving. The Red Raiders’ bench is getting outscored by 18 points from Duke’s bench. Again, 18 point difference here. Duke has 24 points from its bench. Texas Tech has six. That’s a problem.
JT Toppin already has three fouls, which could spell doom for the Red Raiders against Duke
You want to really amplify those issues that we just discussed? The facts that the bench isn’t productive and the Red Raiders can’t score from deep? You want to know what makes both of those things exponentially worse for Texas Tech’s chances to win?
JT Toppin already has three fouls.
If he fouls out, there’s no way that this team of Red Raiders is coming back to win. Even if he doesn’t foul out, it’s going to be tricky to see a comeback being possible, but it gets so much worse if he’s not out there on the court for the Red Raiders.