Four things to know to know about TCU’s next opponent, No. 15 Texas Tech
After a triumphant week in which No. 25 TCU picked up two Big 12 road wins, the Horned Frogs return to Schollmaier Arena on Tuesday for another top-25 matchup.
Texas Tech is ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Poll and the Red Raiders have been the biggest surprise in the conference so far.
League coaches picked the Red Raiders to finish in the middle of the conference, but as the first month of conference play winds down Texas Tech currently sits at the top of the Big 12 with a 5-1 record, a half-game better than Houston.
After hiring Grant McCasland from North Texas, the first-year head coach has started strong and the Red Raiders have already matched their win total from last season.
Here’s four things to know about the Red Raiders:
Power of Pop
Texas Tech is led by sophomore guard Pop Isaacs, who has played like a potential conference Player of the Year in the first third of league play. The 6-foot-2 guard averages 17 points per game with 3.3 assists. Volume is the name of the game for Isaacs as he averages just under 15 shots per game.
He’s more of a shot creator than playmaker and likes to hunt for his own shot. Isaacs is only shooting 37 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from 3 despite averaging 7.4 attempts. While Isaacs could be more efficient, there’s no doubt he’s one of the best scorers in the league.
In the last two games he’s scored a combined 50 points in wins over Oklahoma and BYU, however in the previous two games Isaacs shot a combined 6-of-26 from the field in a one point win over Kansas State and a loss to Houston. TCU has capable defenders that could make life difficult on Isaacs, but the defense will have to remain consistent as Isaacs will likely put up at least a dozen shot attempts.
Familiar name
Isaacs is joined in the back court by West Virginia transfer Joe Toussaint The senior point guard runs the offense while allowing Isaacs to be more of a natural shooting guard. Toussaint tough guard that the Horned Frogs should be familiar with after facing him twice last season.
Toussaint is having the best season of his career as he’s averaging career-high 13.4 points and 4.2 assists while also shooting the highest field goal percentage of his career. Toussaint is not a high-level 3-point shooter, but he can knock them down if he’s left open.
Defensively is where Toussaint could make the most impact depending on if he’s matched up with Avery Anderson or Jameer Nelson Jr. TCU’s backcourt will be tested heavily for the second straight game.
Improved defense?
At its peak, defense was the key to Texas Tech’s success as the Red Raiders usually had one of the best defenses in the country. That slipped last season as the Red Raiders were just 16-15 before Mark Adams was dismissed. While Tech hasn’t returned to elite levels defensively, there’s been noticeable improvement in McCasland’s first season.
The Red Raiders were 142nd in scoring defense last season, but are currently No. 74. Texas Tech does a good job of defending without fouling as teams are only averaging 13 trips to the free throw line per game, good for top-20 in the country. However, after holding two of its first three opponents under 70 points there have been a few cracks in Texas Tech’s defense.
The last three opponents have all scored at least 77 points and while Texas Tech has gone 2-1 in those games, a shootout could favor TCU.
Miller mismatch?
Who Texas Tech uses to guard Emanuel Miller will be an interesting storyline to follow. Devon Cambridge would be a natural choice, but the 6’6 forward has been out since December with an injury. Isaacs and Touissant don’t have the necessary size, so the task could fall to sophomore wing Darrion Williams.
Williams has similar size to Cambridge, but is still a slightly smaller than the 6-foot-7 Miller. Miller is coming off back-to-back 21 point games and has scored 20 or more in four Big 12 games so far. If he can keep up his impressive individual run then TCU will have a great shot at delivering Tech its second conference loss.
