The way Grant McCasland sees it, every game in the Big 12 is its own one-game season. For the No. 20 ranked Texas Tech basketball team, next season begins with a trip to No. 11 Oklahoma State, which will look to avoid back-to-back setbacks on its home floor.
The Red Raiders got some breathing room with last Saturday's come-from-behind victory over BYU. The players then took a few days off to prepare for the Sooners' 75-60 loss to rival Texas on Tuesday.
McCasland doesn't expect the Sooners to play with much urgency Saturday against the Red Raiders at 1 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. But he expects to see a different Oklahoma State than the one Texas faced.
“What we end up doing is probably digging in and looking at some of the things that we've known over the past year that we might need to adjust, so we're more likely to adjust,” McCasland said. I don't know exactly how it's going to affect this game, but I do know that (Porter Moser's) conditioning is as good as it can be in this country, and they're going to be fast in this game. He’ll have it ready for the game.”
One area McCasland sees Oklahoma State improving is its ability to turn opponents around. The Sooners forced 14 turnovers per game in nonconference play. In Big 12 play, that number was cut in half to 7.67.
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“They're an effective team if they can turn opponents around,” McCasland said. “In non-conference games, I think they did a good job of being disruptive and creating advantages and transitions. In league play, they weren’t as disruptive, which is something that has been an emphasis. , we could see it getting difficult for us, trying to move the basketball and be more aggressive in coverage. ”
Despite winning 10 of their last 11 games and holding sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings, McCasland knows the Red Raiders still have areas to solidify. The biggest factor is rebounding. Texas Tech has lost four of its five conference games, three of which were by double digits.
“Rebounding is going to be the biggest area of improvement for me and I think that's going to be the case all year long,” McCasland said.
Trends to watch
Saturday's game will feature two of the top free throw shooting teams in the country. Texas Tech ranks him 18th in the nation, converting 77.4% of his attempts at the stripe. Oklahoma State ranks 33rd with a success rate of 76.1%.
In Big 12 play, opposing teams shot 37 percent from 3-point range against Texas Tech. However, Oklahoma has converted just 28% of its attempts from the outside over the last five games.
Oklahoma's leading scorer, Javian McCollum (14.6 points per game), is shooting 36 percent from the field through three games this season, but is just 3-of-17 from the field in his last four games.
Key statistics
Expect a lot of foul shots in this game. Both teams are good from the stripe and are averaging over 19 free throw attempts per game. But Texas Tech is also one of the best at avoiding foul calls (13.1 per game, seventh in the nation). In the past three games against the Red Raiders, opponents have taken just 15 free shots.
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Score prediction: Texas Tech 81, Oklahoma State 77
Conclusion: If McCasland expects the Sooners to increase their defensive pressure in search of turnovers, he only has a team that can counter that. He averages only 10.5 turnovers per game at Texas Tech.
big 12 men's basketball
20th place Texas Tech vs. 11th place Oklahoma University
when: Saturday, 1 p.m.
where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma
tv set: ESPN+
record: Texas Tech 15-3, 4-1; Oklahoma 15-4, 3-3
Noteworthy points: This will be Texas Tech's third straight matchup against a ranked opponent. This means the Red Raiders will be on the road for three of their next four games.
Current Big 12 standings
All team meeting
Texas Tech 15-3 4-1
Iowa State 15-4 4-2
Houston 17-2 4-2
Kansas 16-3 4-2
Kansas State University 14-5 4-2
Baylor 14-4 3-1
UCF 12-6 3-3
TCU 14-5 3-3
Texas 14-5 3-3
Oklahoma 15-4 3-3
Cincinnati 13-6 2-4
BYU 14-5 2-4
West Virginia 7-12 2-4
Oklahoma State University 8-11 0-6
