It is nearly time, folks. Texas Tech is set to head south to face undoubtedly its best opponent of the season, No. 6 Houston, at the Fertitta Center. The Red Raiders went 0-2 against the Cougs last season, getting stomped out on the road before facing the same fate in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, albeit without Darrion Williams on the second go-round.
Oddly enough, Tech might not have Williams again Saturday taking on Houston and that makes the uphill climb even steeper.
The metrics love this Houston team and for good reason. It is a winning brand of basketball, the kind of defense that Kelvin Sampson employs, combined with players who clearly have bought into this system and the Cougars’ offense has kept up, too.
Some ratings here:
KenPom: No. 1 Overall, No. 8 Offensive Rating, No. 1 Defense Rating
NCAA NET: No. 2, 17-3 record, 3-3 vs. Q1, 6-0 vs. Q2, 4-0 vs. Q3, 4-0 vs. Q4
EvanMiya: No. 1 Overall, No. 9 Off. Rank, No. 1 Def. Rank
After dropping some tough games in the non-conference to Auburn and Alabama (both of which are top 7 in both KenPom and the NET) plus a head scratcher to San Diego State, the Cougs have gotten back to their winning ways and have rolled most of their competition in Big 12 play.
It has not come without some luck, however. It took a minor miracle for Houston to scrape past UCF in Orlando on a one-point win, a 1.1 second game-winner, in fact. It then took an even bigger miracle for the Cougars to win against Kansas in Lawrence, some heroics from Emanuel Sharp and Mylik Wilson, I’m sure you’ve at least seen how it ended.
What really impresses me a lot when watching this Houston team is just their relentlessness on the offensive glass and this will be something to pay close attention to as the Red Raiders have seen their rebounding form dip just a smidge in the last couple of games. Houston is fourth in the Big 12 in overall rebounds and tied with Kansas for the lead in offensive rebounds per game.
Houston’s starting lineup for these Big 12 games has consisted of Milos Uzan, LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp (though he did miss one game due to an ankle/foot injury that has persisted), J’Wan Roberts and JoJo Tugler.
The Cougars’ three guards in that lineup shoot the three pretty well, with Cryer shooting the best from deep at 39.7 percent. As a team Houston is second in the Big 12 in three-point percentage, with a boost off the bench coming from Terrance Arceneaux, who has been a 39.3 percent shooter from range in Big 12 play. Kelvin Sampson said the other night that he should not have played Sharp against West Virginia, so his status could be up in the air for the Cougs. If he were to not play, that would be a big blow and certainly play in Tech's favor.
Houston is not particularly lengthy as far as statistical measurements go, but Uzan and Sharp’s wingspans help play into the kind of defense that the Cougars want to play. What gave Tech plenty of fits last season was Houston’s persistence in icing ball screens and putting PNR ball handlers in dire situations.
When Tech has seen that this season, Elijah Hawkins has done a phenomenal job of diagnosing this and not been taken out of the game by it. Go back and watch the BYU, Iowa State and Oklahoma State games for the proof here. He did a great job in those games.
That is going to be critical if Houston opts for this approach. Christian Anderson and Chance McMillian are going to have to play a role in this, as well. I would like to see Anderson be a more willing facilitator in this game. I think he's been caught several times dribbling too much and team's have mauled him when that has happened. Houston would likely pounce all over him in that case.
McMillian is going to have to tap into all three levels of scoring, specifically in driving to the basket if Houston tries to run him off the three-point line.
The Cougars’ overall length across the board in their lineups does allow them to switch on a variety of actions that offenses may throw at them. TCU did a lot of switching the other night in the first half so perhaps Tech will be more prepared to see this Saturday.
This game in my eyes will be largely centered around the two frontcourts, particularly if the Red Raiders are again without D5 and have to roll out the lineup of Toppin-Federiko at the four and five spots, respectively. J’Wan Roberts and JoJo Tugler are a heck of a one-two punch. Both listed in the 6-foot-8, 230 pound range, it wouldn’t shock me if they were actually much bigger than that and they certainly play that way.
Tugler is a bit more athletic in my opinion, but Roberts is a thick presence who does a bit of everything for this team. Roberts struggled against West Virginia but he was on a tear in the four to five games before that one so we’re likely to see some lefty-on-lefty crime when he’s backing down JT Toppin in the post.
Houston is good, man, there’s just no way around it. Four times in Big 12 play the Cougs have held their opposition to less than 50 which is just absurd. Is this an impossible task for Tech to win? No, but I certainly don’t feel confident with D5’s status in the air.
Tech will have to knock down open looks, which it has struggled to do as of late, crash the defensive glass and just simply not bow down to the physicality that Houston is known for. This just might be one of those games where you sit back and have to understand the monster lined up across from you.
Oddly enough, Tech might not have Williams again Saturday taking on Houston and that makes the uphill climb even steeper.
The metrics love this Houston team and for good reason. It is a winning brand of basketball, the kind of defense that Kelvin Sampson employs, combined with players who clearly have bought into this system and the Cougars’ offense has kept up, too.
Some ratings here:
KenPom: No. 1 Overall, No. 8 Offensive Rating, No. 1 Defense Rating
NCAA NET: No. 2, 17-3 record, 3-3 vs. Q1, 6-0 vs. Q2, 4-0 vs. Q3, 4-0 vs. Q4
EvanMiya: No. 1 Overall, No. 9 Off. Rank, No. 1 Def. Rank
After dropping some tough games in the non-conference to Auburn and Alabama (both of which are top 7 in both KenPom and the NET) plus a head scratcher to San Diego State, the Cougs have gotten back to their winning ways and have rolled most of their competition in Big 12 play.
It has not come without some luck, however. It took a minor miracle for Houston to scrape past UCF in Orlando on a one-point win, a 1.1 second game-winner, in fact. It then took an even bigger miracle for the Cougars to win against Kansas in Lawrence, some heroics from Emanuel Sharp and Mylik Wilson, I’m sure you’ve at least seen how it ended.
What really impresses me a lot when watching this Houston team is just their relentlessness on the offensive glass and this will be something to pay close attention to as the Red Raiders have seen their rebounding form dip just a smidge in the last couple of games. Houston is fourth in the Big 12 in overall rebounds and tied with Kansas for the lead in offensive rebounds per game.
Houston’s starting lineup for these Big 12 games has consisted of Milos Uzan, LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp (though he did miss one game due to an ankle/foot injury that has persisted), J’Wan Roberts and JoJo Tugler.
The Cougars’ three guards in that lineup shoot the three pretty well, with Cryer shooting the best from deep at 39.7 percent. As a team Houston is second in the Big 12 in three-point percentage, with a boost off the bench coming from Terrance Arceneaux, who has been a 39.3 percent shooter from range in Big 12 play. Kelvin Sampson said the other night that he should not have played Sharp against West Virginia, so his status could be up in the air for the Cougs. If he were to not play, that would be a big blow and certainly play in Tech's favor.
Houston is not particularly lengthy as far as statistical measurements go, but Uzan and Sharp’s wingspans help play into the kind of defense that the Cougars want to play. What gave Tech plenty of fits last season was Houston’s persistence in icing ball screens and putting PNR ball handlers in dire situations.
When Tech has seen that this season, Elijah Hawkins has done a phenomenal job of diagnosing this and not been taken out of the game by it. Go back and watch the BYU, Iowa State and Oklahoma State games for the proof here. He did a great job in those games.
That is going to be critical if Houston opts for this approach. Christian Anderson and Chance McMillian are going to have to play a role in this, as well. I would like to see Anderson be a more willing facilitator in this game. I think he's been caught several times dribbling too much and team's have mauled him when that has happened. Houston would likely pounce all over him in that case.
McMillian is going to have to tap into all three levels of scoring, specifically in driving to the basket if Houston tries to run him off the three-point line.
The Cougars’ overall length across the board in their lineups does allow them to switch on a variety of actions that offenses may throw at them. TCU did a lot of switching the other night in the first half so perhaps Tech will be more prepared to see this Saturday.
This game in my eyes will be largely centered around the two frontcourts, particularly if the Red Raiders are again without D5 and have to roll out the lineup of Toppin-Federiko at the four and five spots, respectively. J’Wan Roberts and JoJo Tugler are a heck of a one-two punch. Both listed in the 6-foot-8, 230 pound range, it wouldn’t shock me if they were actually much bigger than that and they certainly play that way.
Tugler is a bit more athletic in my opinion, but Roberts is a thick presence who does a bit of everything for this team. Roberts struggled against West Virginia but he was on a tear in the four to five games before that one so we’re likely to see some lefty-on-lefty crime when he’s backing down JT Toppin in the post.
Houston is good, man, there’s just no way around it. Four times in Big 12 play the Cougs have held their opposition to less than 50 which is just absurd. Is this an impossible task for Tech to win? No, but I certainly don’t feel confident with D5’s status in the air.
Tech will have to knock down open looks, which it has struggled to do as of late, crash the defensive glass and just simply not bow down to the physicality that Houston is known for. This just might be one of those games where you sit back and have to understand the monster lined up across from you.
