Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams held a pre-practice press conference with the media on Tuesday and discussed the upcoming matchup against Baylor.
The Red Raiders beat the Bears, 65-62, in Waco earlier this season, and Baylor is 6-3 in their last nine games since facing Texas Tech. The Bears have dealt with some injury issues as of late but when at full strength, Baylor is undoubtedly one of the premiere teams in college basketball.
Their quickness, pace of play, and their ability to shoot the three makes them a tough matchup for any team they face. Despite the strong defensive effort for the Red Raiders in game one, Adams said the team was a little shellshocked by the way Baylor attacked so quickly.
“Baylor’s got a very aggressive offense,” Adams said. “They attack the three and put the ball on the floor, and you have to be ready for that.
“They’re so fast in transition with guys that can finish. It’s important that our guys understand that all five guys have to be ready and stay in tuned with each other, help each other out and know where those three-point shooters are.
“It’s just a really fast game when you play with them, so you better have your knees bent and be alert with a lot of communication. They’re very difficult to guard.”
Baylor is a solid defensive basketball team, and they’re ranked 24th in scoring defense this season. They’re 18th in turnovers forced and 12th in steals per game.
The Bears are a great transition basketball team, and their ability to run to court and attack the basket is a huge boost for a squad that excels in forcing turnovers. Adams noted the importance of converting on their scoring opportunities against a stingy Baylor defense.
“There’s been times this season that we had open looks at three and didn’t take them,” Adams said. “Against Baylor, you better take the first open look you get and take advantage of it because they’re just relentless on defense. They get a lot of steals, so we want to make sure we take care of the ball.
“Shot selection is very important to us. At the same time, we like to move their defense a little bit because they’re so effective in the first five or 10 seconds.
“It’ll be a challenge. I’ve watched so much of their film, and their defense, like ours, just dictates what the offense is doing, and we certainly hope they don’t do that on Wednesday”
The Bears leading scorer LJ Cryer is listed as a game-time decision on Wednesday night and if he’s not able to go, then James Akinjo will have to be ready to carry the load. He leads the team in assists (5.6) and steals (2.2) and is Baylor’s second leading scorer with 13.1 points per game on the season.
“He’s just a great point guard, and he is so good at getting downhill,” Adams noted “He can score the three-point and in the midrange. He has a little floater and can pull up and finish.
He's so crafty that the challenge with him is once he gets going downhill if you bring help on defense, then he’s always finding those guys to dump off to for layups and dunks.
“He’s been a threat for everybody in the conference, and we’ll certainly do all we can to try and slow him down.”
The Bears will be without their leading rebounder Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua who tore multiple knee ligaments in Baylor’s, 80-63, win over Texas on Saturday. On top of being a dominant rebounder, Tchatchoua provided the Bears with solid defensive presence in the low post. Adams noted that his loss may force Baylor to change up their style of play some.
“He’s such a great force inside and a great rim protector,” Adams said. “It’s going to hurt them some with their interior defense and losing his rebounding.
“At the same time, it’s a strength/weakness deal and if they go small ball and play Mayer at the five or some of their other big guys who can shoot from outside, then it really strengthens their offense in a lot of ways.
“I certainly feel bad for him, he’s a really good player. I’m hurt for the Baylor program. These injuries that happen, especially the season ending, are really hard for the teams and the players to absorb.”
The Red Raiders ended the Bears 21 game winning streak earlier this season, and Baylor will be looking to return the favor by ending Texas Tech’s 18 game home winning streak.
“We’ll need our whole team to play well if we’re going to have a chance to compete against Baylor,” Adams said. “I’m sure they’re going to have a chip on their shoulder with us being fortunate enough to beat them at their place.
“They’re a very competitive team and coming in here, they have a lot of things they could use for motivation. We’re undefeated here at home, and they’re in second place and trying to get to first. They’ve got a lot of ammunition that they’re loading up against us, and we expect their best game.
“In my opinion, they’re still the number one team in the country. I think Baylor is as good as anybody for sure.”
