The biggest test on the schedule from just about every single CBB hoops service out there, a trip to Houston against a team that has dropped back-to-back road games in the Big 12, let’s jump right into it.
The Cougars are the best defensive team in the nation this season, a KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency rating of 85.4, a mark that is as good as any in the last decade.
The top five KenPom adjDE ratings since 2013-14:
-2018-19 Texas Tech: 84.1
-2021-22 Texas Tech: 85.0
-2019-20 Virginia: 85.1
-2023-24 Houston: 85.4*
-2014-15 Kentucky: 85.4
Those five teams kind of give you the perspective of what Grant McCasland and this Tech staff are facing tomorrow night, especially since we’ve watched the top two on that list in recent years. This Houston team is very salty, and they will give you fits.
Houston has allowed the worst eFG in the nation at 40.8-percent where the national average is just around 50-percent. Same story from two-point range, ten percentage points below the national average and No. 1 in the nation. They guard the perimeter very well, the sixth best 3FG% against in the nation.
The Cougars force a ton of turnovers and have gotten double-digit turnovers in all three Big 12 games. They get a turnover on more than a quarter of their defensive possessions, the second most in the nation at 26.6 percent.
Truly their only deficiency on defense is that they send teams to the line, which was massively apparent in their losses to Iowa State and TCU, where the Cyclones shot 18-22 from the stripe while the Frogs shot 16-29, it is 100-percent how Tech can win this game because of how well they shoot from the line.
On offense, Houston is super-efficient, the No. 17 ranked offensive unit in the nation per KenPom. They take care of the ball pretty well and get into deep clocks using set plays pretty often.
Another issue that is going to be apparent is Houston’s ability to offensive rebound, the Achilles heel of this Texas Tech squad. 40.9 percent of the time, the Cougars come down with an offensive board, very similar to the Wildcats from Saturday.
Houston hasn’t shot the ball particularly well this season and are 11/44 from beyond the arc in the two losses in conference play.
From a personnel perspective, the Cougars possess elite guards in Baylor transfer LJ Cryer, who is the motor of this team and truly the only volume threat from beyond the arc. He rarely comes off the floor and takes care of the ball as the off-ball guard for UH.
The other guard for the Cougars is the uber-experienced Jamal Shead who has dimed all over the place this season, the fifth best assist rate in the country at 41.3, Shead has set up his team for success while being able to score quite a bit.
Emanuel Sharp has been a key contributor as their third guard, who stands at 6-3 and has been another quality option for the Cougars.
The frontcourt consists of J’Wan Roberts (6-7, 235) and Ja’Vier Francis (6-8, 240), both of whom have been able to made consistent impacts on the offensive end and on the boards, it will be key to keep them off the boards in this one as the guards aren’t super active on that end. Roberts is coming off a 20-point double-double on 10-18 shooting against TCU.
Damian Dunn is the best guy off the bench and provides a bit more length at 6-5 relative to the three shorter guards in the starting lineup.
Also, remember Mylik Wilson from the 21-22 Tech team? He’s a member of the rotation for the Cougars, so a familiar face to remember in his final season of college eligibility.
This is a massive test and it is going to be a needle mover if you can pull it off. Don’t get blown out and it’s a net-positive from a data perspective but man, you would get some major looks if you can continue this Houston skid.
Owned and operated by Red Raiders, Sideline Provisions offers one of a kind items you can’t find anywhere else in the world. They are the original creator of the Guns Up logo and are the only place to get Dirk West original pieces. Sideline Provisions
The Cougars are the best defensive team in the nation this season, a KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency rating of 85.4, a mark that is as good as any in the last decade.
The top five KenPom adjDE ratings since 2013-14:
-2018-19 Texas Tech: 84.1
-2021-22 Texas Tech: 85.0
-2019-20 Virginia: 85.1
-2023-24 Houston: 85.4*
-2014-15 Kentucky: 85.4
Those five teams kind of give you the perspective of what Grant McCasland and this Tech staff are facing tomorrow night, especially since we’ve watched the top two on that list in recent years. This Houston team is very salty, and they will give you fits.
Houston has allowed the worst eFG in the nation at 40.8-percent where the national average is just around 50-percent. Same story from two-point range, ten percentage points below the national average and No. 1 in the nation. They guard the perimeter very well, the sixth best 3FG% against in the nation.
The Cougars force a ton of turnovers and have gotten double-digit turnovers in all three Big 12 games. They get a turnover on more than a quarter of their defensive possessions, the second most in the nation at 26.6 percent.
Truly their only deficiency on defense is that they send teams to the line, which was massively apparent in their losses to Iowa State and TCU, where the Cyclones shot 18-22 from the stripe while the Frogs shot 16-29, it is 100-percent how Tech can win this game because of how well they shoot from the line.
On offense, Houston is super-efficient, the No. 17 ranked offensive unit in the nation per KenPom. They take care of the ball pretty well and get into deep clocks using set plays pretty often.
Another issue that is going to be apparent is Houston’s ability to offensive rebound, the Achilles heel of this Texas Tech squad. 40.9 percent of the time, the Cougars come down with an offensive board, very similar to the Wildcats from Saturday.
Houston hasn’t shot the ball particularly well this season and are 11/44 from beyond the arc in the two losses in conference play.
From a personnel perspective, the Cougars possess elite guards in Baylor transfer LJ Cryer, who is the motor of this team and truly the only volume threat from beyond the arc. He rarely comes off the floor and takes care of the ball as the off-ball guard for UH.
The other guard for the Cougars is the uber-experienced Jamal Shead who has dimed all over the place this season, the fifth best assist rate in the country at 41.3, Shead has set up his team for success while being able to score quite a bit.
Emanuel Sharp has been a key contributor as their third guard, who stands at 6-3 and has been another quality option for the Cougars.
The frontcourt consists of J’Wan Roberts (6-7, 235) and Ja’Vier Francis (6-8, 240), both of whom have been able to made consistent impacts on the offensive end and on the boards, it will be key to keep them off the boards in this one as the guards aren’t super active on that end. Roberts is coming off a 20-point double-double on 10-18 shooting against TCU.
Damian Dunn is the best guy off the bench and provides a bit more length at 6-5 relative to the three shorter guards in the starting lineup.
Also, remember Mylik Wilson from the 21-22 Tech team? He’s a member of the rotation for the Cougars, so a familiar face to remember in his final season of college eligibility.
This is a massive test and it is going to be a needle mover if you can pull it off. Don’t get blown out and it’s a net-positive from a data perspective but man, you would get some major looks if you can continue this Houston skid.
Owned and operated by Red Raiders, Sideline Provisions offers one of a kind items you can’t find anywhere else in the world. They are the original creator of the Guns Up logo and are the only place to get Dirk West original pieces. Sideline Provisions
