All season, the Texas Tech basketball team has made a living from the 3-point line. However, in the NCAA Tournament, the top 3-point shooting team in Red Raider history has gone cold from beyond the arc. That has made the current run to the Elite Eight somewhat surprising, but if the season is going to extend beyond Saturday night, Tech will likely have to revert to its hot-shooting ways.
This season, the Red Raiders have shot 36.7% as a team from 3-point range. That's good for No. 46 in the nation.
Additionally, Tech's average of 10.0 made 3s in per game ranks 23rd. Of course, that comes as a result of hoisting 27.3 shots from beyond the arc per game, the 45th-most in Division I.
It has been widely reported that on three occasions this season, Tech has matched the program record of 16 made 3s in a game. That's a product of having three members of the regular rotation, Chance McMillian, Kerwin Walton, and Christian Anderson, who shoot 38.4% or better from deep.
Texas Tech has used the 3-point shot to win huge games this season
Some of Texas Tech's best wins this season have come about because of a 3-point barrage. In fact, the defining win of the regular season saw Tech have a huge edge from beyond the arc.
When the Red Raiders won at Houston in February, the Red Raiders were 12-30 (40%) from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Cougars were just 5-14.
Then, when Tech secured its second-ever win over Kansas all Allen Fieldhouse, it was a 15-43 (34.9%) 3-point shooting effort that carried the Red Raiders to a win. Meanwhile, Kansas was just 4-18 (22.2%).
Similarly, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, a 15-44 shooting effort from deep carried the Red Raiders past Baylor. That night, Tech outscored the Bears by 33 points from beyond the arc.
Finally, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Tech went 13-46 against UNC Wilmington. However, that shooting effort was not efficient being as Grant McCasland's team shot only 28.3% from the outside. Unfortunately, it was the start of a downturn in the Red Raiders' ability to connect from the outside.
Texas Tech has struggled from 3-point range during March Madness
Since the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, Tech has not been itself from 3-point range. After hitting 13 shots from deep in round one but shooting a low percentage, Tech was just 2-14 against a tough defensive Drake team in round two.
Then, in the Sweet 16, the Red Raiders were only 8-32 from downtown against Arkansas. Thus, in the tournament, a team that has relied so heavily on the 3-point shot has made just 25% of its attempts.
Much of those struggles have been because McMillian has yet to play in the NCAA Tournament due to an abdominal injury. This year, he's the team's best 3-point weapon, shooting 43.4% (best of any player in the regular rotation), and he's made 69 shots from deep (second on the team).
Meanwhile, the two other top 3-point options on the roster, Walton and Anderson, have gone cold. After going 8-19 on 3-point attempts in the first round, Walton has since gone 0-4 in the last two games. After his offensive outburst to open the Big Dance, the senior has become a target of opposing defensive schemes, and he's been unable to get clean looks since he's not a player capable of creating his own shots.
Anderson isn't struggling to get opportunities, on the other hand. He is simply not hitting many of them.
In the NCAA Tournament, he is just 5-23 from 3-point range. That's 21.7%. Fortunately, he did show some signs of breaking out of his slump by making three important long-range shots in the Sweet 16 against Arkansas. Still, he has to be better in the Elite Eight, as do the rest of his teammates.
It won't be easy for Texas Tech to get right against Florida
Texas Tech fans are certainly hoping that tonight is when this team catches fire from 3-point range. However, it won't be easy against No. 1 seed Florida.
This season, the Gators allow opponents to shoot just 29.3% from beyond the arc. That's seventh-best in America.
In the tournament, the Gators have held opponents to just 2-14, 8-29, and 6-19. That's just 25.8%.
If there is hope for the Red Raiders tonight, it is that some elite shooting teams have had big 3-point efforts against the Gators. The top 3-point shooting team in the SEC, Kentucky, went 14-29 (48.3%) against Florida in a 106-100 Wildcat win in early January. When Missouri knocked off Florida by a point in January, the Tigers went 11-29 (37.9%). Then, about a month ago, Georgia was 10-18 (55.6%) from 3-point range in a six-point victory over the Gators.
Tonight, Tech is likely to try to get back on track from deep, considering that Florida averages 85.5 points per game (the 3rd-most in the country). Though Tech isn't shooting well of late, the team is still averaging 30.3 attempts from beyond the arc per game in the NCAA Tournament. But, if a trip to the Final Four is going to be in the cards, it won't be enough for Tech to simply fire away; they are going to have to actually rediscover the range when they do.