Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams held a press conference with the media on Tuesday and discussed the Gonzaga game, previewed tomorrow’s contest against Eastern Washington and talked about what he’d like to see from the Red Raiders as they wrap up non-conference play this week.

Mark Adams said the emphasis going into the game against the Zags was to take away what they do best, scoring around the rim with Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren. The Texas Tech defense was successful in doing so, holding the Bulldogs to only 16 points in the paint, their lowest total in five seasons. The Red Raiders held Timme to only seven points, his lowest total since his freshman season in 2019.

“I thought we did a great job not letting him (Timme) have the touches and the looks that he normally does,” Adams said. “You know they’re not a great three-point shooting team, so we were hoping that luck would be in our favor, and they’d miss some of those shots. We got it to, 42-40, and they hit two or three big threes. You know, a good team does that, and their guards stepped up. They’re a very good team and something we have to work on is guarding the three-point line.

Clarence Nadolny played a season high 29 minutes in the, 69-55, loss to the Bulldogs and while he didn’t necessarily fill up the stat sheet, the effort and intensity that he plays with really stood out as a positive for Texas Tech. Nadolny is steadily working his way back into the rotation after missing the first three games of the season with a leg injury. Adams talked about the impact he had against the Zags.

“Clarence had a great offseason,” Adams noted. “He was maybe our best guard this past summer and it was just unfortunate that he had that injury. I think it’s just taken him a little while to get back into game shape and mentally to get his confidence back. It’s next man up, and TJ (Shannon) didn’t play of course, so Clarence answered the bell and gave us some valuable minutes. We know Clarence is always going to play hard. He’s one of the most intense players that we have on the team, and he plays really physical. We were pleased not only with how he played on the offensive but defensive end. We were excited about his performance, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he plays in this game against Eastern Washington.

With the Red Raiders set to tip off against EWU on Wednesday afternoon, Adams was complimentary of the Eagles and added that they are a well-coached team who’s shown they can play against quality competition, having beat Washington State, 76-71, and played Colorado down to the wire but lost, 60-57.

“I really like this team, and I think they’d be a fun team to coach,” Adams said. “They have a lot of guys who can pass, shoot, and dribble. They’re long and athletic. It’ll be a heck of a game, and we’ve got a lot of respect for them. They’re going to make us better, and I think they’re going to be really hard for us to guard and are going to test our defense.”

With Eastern Washington and Alabama State on the docket this week, Adams is looking for his team to start playing more consistent basketball with conference play right around the corner. Adams noted that he’d also like to see the offense flow better by pushing the ball up the court more.

“We’re always looking for consistency,” Adams said. “We’ve come a long way. I think our rebounding is much better, and we’ve got our turnovers down some, so that’s a positive. On the negative side, we’ve got to keep working on our transition defense and our shot selection. It’s moving in the right direction, but we’ve still got some big steps to take before we start conference play.”

Adams also stated that getting Bryson Williams back on track is a big priority for the team before their New Year’s Day matchup against Oklahoma State.

“We’ve talked with Bryson about it, and I think it’s maybe a little bit timing and confidence on his part,” Adams noted. “There’s been some adjustments playing some of these teams that have the taller, bigger players. They’re double teaming him and it’s no secret that he’s one of our best offensive players. He’s just got to slow down and read the defense, and I think he’s already, at least in practice, made some improvement in that area. We certainly need him. If we’re going to make a run in the Big 12 then he’s going to have to be one of our leading scorers and a guy that we can get the ball to and get points.”