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basketball Edit

Three Takes: Red Raiders top the Mountaineers

TAKE ONE: TEXAS TECH IS TOUGH TO BEAT WHEN TERRENCE SHANNON IS BALLIN'

Shannon made his return to the lineup last Saturday but struggled in his first two games back. He scored a combined 6 points and shot 33.3 percent from the field against Kansas State and Iowa State. Basketball is a rhythm sport and when you’re away from the game for over a month, it’s going to take some time to get your groove back. If there was any rust remaining after the first two games, it’s clearly gone now. Shannon looked like his old self out there and led the Red Raiders with a season high 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He was 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the field and shot 3-of-7 from three-point range. Shannon led the team in minutes with 32, and he was a plus-20 in the plus/minus column. He scored 11 points in the final six minutes to help put away West Virginia. Shannon’s efficiency on offense means even more to this team than his scoring totals do. Texas Tech is 13-3 over the last two seasons when Shannon shoots 50 percent or better from the field. The formula to defeat the Red Raiders starts on the defensive end. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to be able to score on Texas Tech, so if you can’t keep their offense in check than the Red Raiders become extremely difficult to beat. When Shannon can provide the offense with the efficient scoring boost that he was able to bring today, the Red Raiders become that much more dangerous as a basketball team.

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TAKE TWO: DESPITE SCORING 78 POINTS, THE DEFENSE WON THIS GAME

The Red Raiders were able to put up 78 points against a good Mountaineer defense. The 78 points tied the largest offensive output in Big 12 play for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech hasn’t scored more than 78 points in a game since they posted 89 against Lamar back on November 27th. Despite the high scoring total, the Red Raiders weren’t great on the offensive end today, and it took another solid defensive effort to ultimately pull out the win. Texas Tech shot 40.7 percent from the field today. Their sixth lowest shooting percentage in 19 games this season. The Red Raiders missed multiple scoring opportunities around the basket and were 13-of-25 on layups. They still posted 30 points in the paint but considering that the Red Raiders missed 12 layup opportunities, that number could've been much higher. Texas Tech’s aggression in attacking the paint, however, got them in the bonus early in both halves, and they shot 36 free throws as a result. The defense wasn’t perfect today, but they still held West Virginia below their season averages in scoring offense and field goal percentage. The Red Raider defense also forced 17 turnovers in this game.

TAKE THREE: TEXAS TECH PLAYED THEIR BEST BASKETBALL WHEN IT MATTERED MOST

Taz Sherman made a big three-pointer for the Mountaineers to go up, 54-53, with just over six minutes remaining. On the Red Raiders next trip down the court, Shannon would receive the pass and find himself standing wide open at the three-point line. Instead of taking the shot, Shannon made the aggressive move to attack the basket and scored the layup, drawing a foul in the process. He would make the free-throw to complete the three-point play and put Tech up two points. Bryson Williams would hit an open three the next trip down the court to give the Red Raiders a five-point lead. West Virginia cut the lead back to three on a Dimon Carrigan layup, but Shannon would hit back-to-back threes on their next two offensive possessions to put Texas Tech up nine points with three minutes remaining. The Red Raiders also made several big defensive plays down the stretch. Marcus Santos-Silva had two key blocks in the final minutes, and Davion Warren and Kevin McCullar both recorded steals. In a competitive league like the Big 12, games are so often decided in the final minutes. Texas Tech outscored West Virginia, 25-11, over the final six minutes and made several key plays down the stretch to seal the victory.

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