As the No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders men’s basketball team heads on up to Ames, Iowa to match up with the No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones, it’s interesting taking a look at some of the numbers and the way these teams compare.
The Red Raiders and Cyclones are so close in a number of ways. There are a few notable exceptions, but these teams are both so good and so fun to watch. And the numbers reflect that.
For example, they’re both scoring about the same sort of high offensive output. And these are some of the best teams in the Big 12.
Texas Tech is at 82 points per game while the Cyclones are averaging 82.8 points per game. Interestingly enough, they’re both averaging 39.2 percent three point shooting on the season. Now, Texas Tech makes 11.4 threes per game, but Iowa State’s 8.9 threes made per game isn’t something to overlook or ignore here.
Stats preview: Examining the No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs the No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones ahead of Saturday’s matchup
The biggest gap that exists between the Red Raiders and the Cyclones is the fact that Iowa State’s defensive efforts are a good bit better than what Texas Tech does. Iowa State is holding folks to 64.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Texas Tech is allowing 72.2 points per game. That’s noteworthy.
And it results in a scoring margin that is definitely important to keep an eye on. Iowa State is averaging +17.9 points per game in this category. Texas Tech isn’t bad, but there’s a notable gap between that and the +9.9 points per game margin for the Red Raiders.
Another layer of that includes the way that Iowa State snags 8.8 steals per game while Texas Tech is averaging just 6.0 steals per game.
These teams mirror each other so closely on the offensive side of things. How will this game play out as we see Texas Tech try to handle Iowa State’s offense, which is just as good as the Red Raiders while the Cyclones have a superior defense to slow down what McCasland’s team will want to do?