A few quick thoughts: Texas falls in Chris Beard's return to Lubbock

[Jameson McCausland]

The environment lived up to the hype, as Texas Tech fans showed up in full force Tuesday evening to welcome Chris Beard back to Lubbock. The game itself played out as many expected. The Longhorns went through extended stretches where they struggled against a good Texas Tech defense, ultimately falling 77-64 to the Red Raiders. 

• There was a 5 minute stretch early in the first half where Texas really let the game get away from them. From that moment forward, it was an uphill climb and the Longhorns were never able to truly get back in the game. They cut the lead to 6 or 7 points a few times in the second half, but every time they appeared poised to get back in the game, Texas Tech responded.
• The achilles heel of this team right now is the inability to get an offensive flow on too many possessions. Marcus Carr has received some criticism for his play as teams primary ball handler, but the Longhorns offense as a hole just looks unorganized and lost at times. Texas seems to be much more comfortable when they get out and push the tempo a little. Carr also began opening up the offense more in the second half when he was able to get in the lane and get to the free throw line.
• Devin Askew had a rough evening, turning the ball over 3 times in 15 minutes. It has been an up and down season for the transfer from Kentucky. He had a big opportunity to step up when Carr exited the game early with two fouls, but wasn't able to provide a spark.
• Perhaps the most frustrating performance came from Timmy Allen, who finished the game with 5 points and 5 rebounds. Texas Tech clearly had a plan to not let Allen beat them offensively and Texas didn't have a counter punch ready.
• Courtney Ramey single handily kept Texas in the game in the first half by connecting on 4 three pointers. Unfortunately, he didn't score at all in the second half and went ice cold from the floor.

Big picture thought

• This wasn't a game many expected Texas to win. It doesn't change much in terms of where the Longhorns are in relation to chasing a NCAA tournament bid, but it does call into question what the ceiling of this team truly is. Defense travels and wins games in March, but you still have to have an offensive pulse. Sloppy play on offense combined with being turnover prone is a sure path to an early exit. Texas must clean up on the turnovers if they want to maximize this season. They are way too reckless with the basketball and it's somewhat surprising it hasn't hurt them more up to this point. They have won several games this season committing 17+ turnovers which is a major gift. 

[tejasrulz]

Nice analysis, good job.

 

[TB14]

Agreed on all points. Think the ceiling for this team is 2nd round of NCAA tourney barring a big break in the bracket. Just not cohesive offensively.

[longhorn_mig]

Spot on. Unfortunately, Askew is the closest thing we have to a traditional PG. I'd argue that the potential is there and you see flashes every now and then, but he's too young and inexperienced to play the role that we need him for. It's going to be an early exit for this team unless: (1) Carr suddenly becomes a better PG; or (2) Askew takes some big steps by the end of conference play.

[Sirhornsalot]

Agree with LH Mig, above. We're missing a true PG in the worst way. Askew's inexperience and frankly looked rattled last night, is not helping things. Carr, IMO, isn't a PG but seems to be accepting the role by default.

Something has to give offensively. We need someone to penetrate and make shit happen. That seems to be plan C or D right now. Everybody float the perimeter and hope for the best. smh

[83Dee]

3 hours ago, TB14 said:

Agreed on all points. Think the ceiling for this team is 2nd round of NCAA tourney barring a big break in the bracket. Just not cohesive offensively.

This team has serious flaws.... lack of ball handling and any kind of “enforcer” being two.  I’ll be surprised if they get past the first round.  At this point I’ll call second round over-achieving.

Any team that can pressure - especially full court.... we will have all kinds of trouble handling. 

[Baron]

3 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

Agree with LH Mig, above. We're missing a true PG in the worst way. Askew's inexperience and frankly looked rattled last night, is not helping things. Carr, IMO, isn't a PG but seems to be accepting the role by default.

Something has to give offensively. We need someone to penetrate and make shit happen. That seems to be plan C or D right now. Everybody float the perimeter and hope for the best. smh

I seem to remember a lot of that last year as well.

[Baron]

1 hour ago, 83Dee said:

This team has serious flaws.... lack of ball handling and any kind of “enforcer” being two.  I’ll be surprised if they get past the first round.  At this point I’ll call second round over-achieving.

Any team that can pressure - especially full court.... we will have all kinds of trouble handling. 

You must be talking about the Big12 tourney. There are at least three more losses on the schedule and that's being generous.

[Huskie1]

You guys summed up all the offensive flaws everyone sees. I would like the to run more and maybe get open shots in transition. Just my 2 cents.

I’ve been disappointed in the lack of improvement through the season thus far.

[Sirhornsalot]

34 minutes ago, Huskie1 said:

You guys summed up all the offensive flaws everyone sees. I would like the to run more and maybe get open shots in transition. Just my 2 cents.

I’ve been disappointed in the lack of improvement through the season thus far.

That weak pre-conference schedule fooled us. I know we had Gonzaga, but lets face it, they had no problems with us.

[TB14]

4 hours ago, 83Dee said:

This team has serious flaws.... lack of ball handling and any kind of “enforcer” being two.  I’ll be surprised if they get past the first round.  At this point I’ll call second round over-achieving.

Any team that can pressure - especially full court.... we will have all kinds of trouble handling. 

Agreed. Second Round is over achieving peak. Seems like there is a big gap in the top 20 teams this year and the next 20. Texas is in that second 20 somewhere.

[david ficken]

So, the fact the Mitchell and Disu combined for 5 boards and 6 points is being overlooked for what reason. At least Bishop had a decent night in getting 11 points and 8 boards.

Tech took Allen away and AJ and Febres couldn't hit the few open looks they had.  

We are still currently #4 in the conference and have some winnable games and some games that will be just like last night.  Guessing we would be anywhere from a 5/6 seed to 8/9 seed depending upon how the rest of the year plays out.  If we win the 1st game in the big dance it should be considered a successful year due to what Beard walked into and did to fill out a roster. Hopefully some of these guys are back with the 3 freshmen coming in and seeing what they might add.  

[Baron]

6 minutes ago, david ficken said:

So, the fact the Mitchell and Disu combined for 5 boards and 6 points is being overlooked for what reason. At least Bishop had a decent night in getting 11 points and 8 boards.

Tech took Allen away and AJ and Febres couldn't hit the few open looks they had.  

We are still currently #4 in the conference and have some winnable games and some games that will be just like last night.  Guessing we would be anywhere from a 5/6 seed to 8/9 seed depending upon how the rest of the year plays out.  If we win the 1st game in the big dance it should be considered a successful year due to what Beard walked into and did to fill out a roster. Hopefully some of these guys are back with the 3 freshmen coming in and seeing what they might add.  

Allen looked timid. I realize Tech did a great job defending him, but I expected more from him. Most of the forwards look timid when it comes to shooting the ball. They seem to think they need to be completely open to shoot the ball.

[tejasrulz]

As I stated earlier, @Jameson McCauslandanalysis is spot on. It's funny that some think Beard is as bad as Smart. No, he's way better, not even close. I also posted the below in the game thread but way after it was over.

I'll probably get blasted for this but I had Texas winning this game at less than 5%. Watching the game with the wife, I told her we had a very little chance of winning this. This was Tech's super bowl this year. Look how they played in the first half compared to the second. I'm sure Beard will remind the team when Tech comes to Austin. As someone predicted in the basketball thread, Cunningham did foul out.

As far as Texas playing better, the majority of this team is playing together for the first time this year. Like most sports, the more you play with someone, the better you know their habits and vice versa. Live by the portal/die by the portal.

I still believe this team will make it to the NCAA tourney.

[longhorn_mig]

15 hours ago, david ficken said:

So, the fact the Mitchell and Disu combined for 5 boards and 6 points is being overlooked for what reason. At least Bishop had a decent night in getting 11 points and 8 boards.

Tech took Allen away and AJ and Febres couldn't hit the few open looks they had.  

We are still currently #4 in the conference and have some winnable games and some games that will be just like last night.  Guessing we would be anywhere from a 5/6 seed to 8/9 seed depending upon how the rest of the year plays out.  If we win the 1st game in the big dance it should be considered a successful year due to what Beard walked into and did to fill out a roster. Hopefully some of these guys are back with the 3 freshmen coming in and seeing what they might add.  

There's no question that the big men, in general, have been soft all season. There are some flashes here and there, but it doesn't come close to a consistent performance. That said, if you have a PG actually running the offense at a competent level, that does a lot to help the big men. A big man gets some legitimate, well-planned touches in the paint, it goes a long way to getting them involved in the game. In turn, they assert themselves more. I'm not giving them a pass. Personally, I believe that lack of PG is the biggest issue, which feeds into other issues the team is having.

[Sirhornsalot]

3 hours ago, tejasrulz said:

As I stated earlier, @Jameson McCauslandanalysis is spot on. It's funny that some think Beard is as bad as Smart. No, he's way better, not even close. I also posted the below in the game thread but way after it was over.

I'll probably get blasted for this but I had Texas winning this game at less than 5%. Watching the game with the wife, I told her we had a very little chance of winning this. This was Tech's super bowl this year. Look how they played in the first half compared to the second. I'm sure Beard will remind the team when Tech comes to Austin. As someone predicted in the basketball thread, Cunningham did foul out.

As far as Texas playing better, the majority of this team is playing together for the first time this year. Like most sports, the more you play with someone, the better you know their habits and vice versa. Live by the portal/die by the portal.

I still believe this team will make it to the NCAA tourney.

^^ This.

It was obviously a good thing for Tech basketball in general (the big crowd). But it also showed how a giant case of butt hurt can manifest itself in one place.

The classless behavior by Tech students and fans after the game will be something to remember in a few weeks when they come to town. It was utterly disgusting.