Grant McCasland says Texas Tech basketball team still lacks "grit" on defense

Texas Tech basketball head coach Grant McCasland is obsessed with defense. It's a philosophy that has carried him to fantastic heights at nearly every stop along his head coaching journey. So it should come as no surprise that even after seeing his team put up a 94-61 win over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night, one in which the Red Raiders made 16 3-pointers to tie a school record, McCasland was just as focused on how his team played defense as he was with its hot shooting.

"There's also a mindset that this group has to have," McCasland said. "And if you said, 'What are these guys strengths?', I wouldn't say any of them; their strengths are defenders.

"Their strengths are, Chance [McMillan] and Kerwin [Walton] are some of the best shooters in the world. And Darrion Williams is as versatile as it is in the world. We don't have guys that are really putting pressure on the ball.

"I mean, you saw JT [Toppin] around the basket. I mean, he's hard to guard. I mean, he can score. I think we've just got a team full of guys that their strengths are scoring and then like, what's going to be our anchor?"

It is interesting that these remarks came after a game that saw the Red Raiders give up only 41.7% shooting to Bethune-Cookman, a number that is more than acceptable for most people, especially in the season opener. What's more, the Red Raiders blocked six shots and came up with seven steals. Of course, that was not against an opponent from a power conference and McCasland knows that when the difficulty of the schedule picks up, his team will have to be better on defense.

"I just think we've gotta have more grit to us defensively as a group," McCasland said. "And honestly, it's not our strength. And that's what I'm challenging our team with every day.

"It's like, how can we believe that this is the way? There is no other way. This is the way that we win championships is to compete and scrap defensively. And we'll get there, for sure."

Of course, Texas Tech basketball fans know all about the importance of playing elite defense. In 2018-19 when the Red Raiders played in the National Championship Game, Tech led the nation in defensive efficiency rating according to KenPom.com. What's more, the last time the program reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, in 2022, Tech's defense was again tops in the nation in that metric.

However, last season, Tech ranked only 65th in defensive rating. That had to drive McCasland crazy at times.

Meanwhile, the team that won the National Title last season, UCONN, ranked fourth while the regular-season Big 12 champions, Houston, ranked second. That gives credence to McCasland's belief that playing defense is the path to championships. Now the question that must be answered is whether or not his team is willing to follow him down that path.