Texas Tech will be hosting several recruits on official visits in June. Inside the Red Raiders has confirmed 25 recruits expected to take official visit to Raiderland spread over three weekends in June.
The overwhelming factor in any game with Houston is the Cougar defense. By virtually every metric, they play the best defense in the country, and some of the best defense ever seen in the college game (and never seen on the NBA level). In that respect, Houston is much like the 2019 Texas Tech team that very nearly won the national title.
So, what can Texas Tech do against the Cougar defense to at least give themselves a chance of knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation? Obviously, they’ll have to play at a much higher level than they did on January 17 when Houston put easily the worst defeat on the Red Raiders they’ve experienced this season.
The primary reason Texas Tech fared so poorly in that earlier game was that they simply could not breach Houston’s defense. Jamal Shead, the Big XII Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, simply handcuffed Texas Tech point guard Joe Toussaint and prevented the Red Raiders from initiating any semblance of a structured offense. And when you can’t get into the paint, you’re not going to score. The Red Raiders didn’t. Their 54 points in that game were the least they’ve scored this season.
Clearly, Texas Tech will have to bring a different offensive approach to this meeting with the Coogs. Part of that approach will be scoring buckets in transition. When a team’s halfcourt defense is as good as Houston’s, it’s good strategy to face that defense as little as possible, and transition is the way to do that. Unfortunately, the Cougars don’t turn the ball over frequently, so attempting to score against them via the fast break may be akin to getting blood from a stone unless Texas Tech can push the ball up the court effectively after Houston misses.
Another possibility is a heavy dose of high ball screens to pick Shead off or force LJ Cryer or Emanuel Sharp to switch onto Toussaint. Not that they’re poor defensive players, but anybody’s a step down from Shead.
Offensive rebounding could also be a plus factor for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech has improved dramatically on the glass over the last several games, and the Cougars, in their most recent win over TCU, surrendered an astounding 30 offensive rebounds! True, Houston still limited the Frogs to only 45 points–another astonishing fact–but as well as the Red Raiders are shooting the ball lately, the Cougars probably won’t fare so well if they defensive rebound anywhere near that poorly again.
