Another weekend in the Big 12, another tough challenge for Grant McCasland and his Texas Tech basketball team. The Red Raiders are hitting the road and getting set to face one of the absolute toughest teams around.Â
The No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones aren’t a joke. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And it’ll be interesting to see how Texas Tech handles that pressure that comes with facing a top 5 team on the road.Â
As this game goes, I’m working to keep an eye on a few different storylines. Here’s something to watch for when the Red Raiders face the Cyclones.Â
Storyline 1: Life without JT Toppin continues in an incredibly tough situation for Texas Tech
There’s no replacing JT Toppin. Not with any individual player, at least. Texas Tech is having to lean into adjusting the offensive approach and rebounding by committee, and there’s a ton of talent on this team, but there’s just no replacing JT Toppin.Â
So far, things have worked out for Texas Tech, they handled both Kansas State and Cincinnati. How will the Red Raiders do against the No. 4 team in the country though?
Storyline 2: Iowa State has been absolutely unbeatable when playing at home in Ames
Up to this point in the season, absolutely nobody has been able to go into Hilton Coliseum and find a way to win against the Iowa State Cyclones. They’re 15-0 in Ames. And when you look at how the Red Raiders have done on the road this season, that feels a little concerning, to say the least. The Red Raiders have shown they can win in hostile environments (Arizona is aware of that), so we’ll see what happens.
Storyline 3: Expect to see a three point shootout between the Red Raiders and the Cyclones
Quite honestly, one of my favorite stats to look at ahead of this matchup is the way both the Iowa State Cyclones and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are shooting from behind the three point line. From deep, both teams are draining 39.2 percent of their attempts. Texas Tech makes a few more, hitting on 11.4 versus making 8.9 attempts per game, so we’ll see how that pans out.