Even though Texas Tech cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season, Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland hasn’t been all that pleased with how his offense is operating.
No. 22 Texas Tech will take a four-game winning streak into a meeting with TCU on Wednesday night in Lubbock, Texas, but the Red Raiders (15-4, 6-2 Big 12) eclipsed the 70-point mark just once during that stretch.
McCasland wants to see his players let the ball fly against the Horned Frogs (10-9, 3-5).
“Playing at home is unique,” McCasland said. “It really is, because I think everybody just expects it’s gonna go in and we have such an electric start to the game, then all of the sudden a few of them don’t get in, and our guys are getting tight because of it. It feels like it, honestly.
“And they’re like, ‘I don’t wanna miss,’ instead of shooting it to make, and you just feel a hesitancy there. … We’ve got to get better movement into it so that we’ve got more of a rhythm.”
Texas Tech found its rhythm at just the right time on Sunday, going on a 12-5 run over the final 4:22 of regulation to beat Oklahoma State 64-54. Chance McMillian finished with 14 points for the Red Raiders, who didn’t have any other scorers in double figures.
McMillian is Texas Tech’s second-leading scorer (14.9 points per game) this season behind JT Toppin (16.3).
TCU’s offense has recently been spotty, too. The Horned Frogs went just 23-for-64 from the field (35.9 percent) in an 85-58 loss to UCF on Saturday, a rocky showing that followed a 37.9 percent performance from the floor in a 74-61 setback against then-No. 12 Kansas last week.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that TCU recorded the lowest single-game 3-point percentage in Big 12 history by knocking down only 1 of 20 attempts from deep (5 percent) against the Knights.
Horned Frogs coach Jamie Dixon is confident that his group can move past the troubling outing from beyond the arc. TCU has connected on 30.1 percent of its 3-point attempts this season.
“When you get good shots, you feel good about it,” Dixon said. “Obviously when you set records, and bad records, you’re gonna put yourself in a situation.”
Isaiah Manning had the lone 3-pointer against UCF, and Vasean Allette netted a team-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Allette (11.8 points per game) and Noah Reynolds (12.3) are the Horned Frogs’ top two scorers.
TCU and Texas Tech will be colliding for the 144th time, with the Red Raiders holding an 87-56 advantage in the all-time series. They have taken 51 of the 68 games played in Lubbock.
Should the Horned Frogs shake off their struggles against Texas Tech, Dixon would secure his 499th win as a coach. He currently has 170 victories at TCU.
Wednesday marks the first meeting of the season between the teams, who will also get together on Feb. 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.
–Field Level Media
