In the NCAA Tournament, few teams are going to fire on all cylinders every game. The level of competition in the Big Dance picks up as teams fight for their lives meaning every aspect of the game is magnified. Thus, it is unfair to expect every player to simply replicate what he did in the regular season. That has been the case for Texas Tech freshman Christian Anderson.
In the first round, he was just 2-9 from the floor scoring seven points and handing out three assists in the Red Raiders' 82-72 win over UNC Wilmington. Then, in the 77-64 second-round win over Drake, he was again 2-9 from the floor but that time for only five points.
Certainly, Tech needs more from one of its top guards. That's especially true if Anderson is going to play a starter's role as he has in the past three games since Chance McMillian went down with an abdominal injury in the Big 12 Tournament. (However, Anderson is expected to come off the bench this weekend with McMillian set to return to the lineup.)
The postseason hasn't been great for the youngster. In four games since the end of the regular season, he's averaged 9.4 points per game, which is respectable. However, if you take away his 19-point effort against Arizona in the Big 12 semifinals, he's averaged just six points per game.
Additionally, Anderson is not shooting the ball well in as of late, especially from 3-point range. In his last four games, he's gone just 6-25 (24.0%) from beyond the arc. That's a sharp downturn from the regular season when he was a 41.1% shooter from deep.
Now, some of Anderson's struggles might be due to the fact that he was playing while under the weather this past weekend. That was something that Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland shared on the Texas Tech radio broadcast of the second-round game against Drake.
On the other hand, it is fair to wonder if the pressure of playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time got to the freshman as well. Meanwhile, some might question whether he has hit a wall after appearing in 33 games this season, including 24 that were either Big 12 or NCAA Tournament games.
All of those factors might be in play when helping us understand why Anderson didn't look like himself in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. Only Anderson and the rest of the people inside the program will know for certain, though.
Fortunately, what everyone was able to see was that Anderson still made some huge plays to help his team advance in both rounds.
Christian Anderson made timely plays to help Texas Tech reach the Sweet 16
Though Anderson didn't play up to his potential in Wichita, Kansas, he did remain engaged on both ends of the floor despite his offensive struggles. That's a testament to his maturity as a person and a player.
What's more, he didn't lose any of the confidence that we've come to admire in him. In fact, when both NCAA Tournament games were on the line, he made plays to put Tech over the top.
Against UNCW in round one, with Tech clinging to a 57-55 lead with just 8:45 to play, Anderson drove to the goal and hit a layup while drawing a foul. He then knocked down the subsequent free throw to give the Red Raiders a five-point lead.
Then, with 2:57 to play, Anderson drilled a 3-pointer to put Tech up 76-64. That shot would essentially close the door on UNCW's upset hopes.
In all, Anderson scored all seven of his points in the game in the final eight minutes. That's certainly proof that he wasn't discouraged by his struggles earlier in the game.
That scenario repeated itself in round two when Anderson got off to a poor start against Drake. In fact, at halftime, he had only attempted three shots and scored two points.
However, late in the game, he would again hit a dagger to push his team to victory. With 2:37 to play, he drained a 3-pointer to put the Red Raiders ahead 71-58. That was the key shot in a six-point spurt that gave Tech some much-needed breathing room.
In neither game thus far in the Big Dance has Anderson looked like the player we've already come to expect him to be. However, even as he's struggled to find his scoring touch, he's found ways to stay poised, and when the opportunity to put his team over the top has arisen, he's come through.
Sometimes, winning players aren't always great. Rather, often they are just great when they are needed the most.
That was Christian Anderson's story in the first two rounds. Now, if he can return to the form that he showed for most of the regular season, he could make Texas Tech even more dangerous this weekend as he and his teammates try to get to the Final Four.