If Texas Tech is going to win the National Championship Game, they’ll need to do these three things to beat Virginia and cut down the nets.
Defense will be the order of the day for the National Championship Game, and while Virginia’s Pack Line defense has drawn all the headlines the Texas Tech unit is actually better. The Red Raiders have gotten to the title game on the strength of their defense, which has consistently throttled the opposition all the way to Minneapolis.
The Big 12 hasn’t won a national championship since Kansas cut down the nets in 2008, but Texas Tech has a great chance to end that drought with a win on Monday night. Let’s take a look at the three keys to victory for the Red Raiders.
1. Get Jarrett Culver going
The best player on Texas Tech is clearly forward Jarrett Culver, who entered the Final Four averaging 21.5 points per game during the NCAA Tournament. Culver was pretty much a non-factor in the Red Raiders’ Final Four win against Michigan State, scoring just 10 points on 3-12 shooting as Matt Mooney carried the scoring load for Texas Tech.
Expecting Mooney to duplicate his performance against Virginia is a tall order, so the Red Raiders need to find ways to get Culver involved offensively early and often. Culver is a potential lottery pick in June’s draft and he is their best chance to put up points against the Cavaliers’ aggressive defense.
2. Limit Virginia’s three point shooting
The big distinguishing factor separating this Virginia team from previous editions is their ability to knock down three point shots. The Cavaliers were one of the nation’s most efficient teams from the perimeter during the regular season, and they feature two elite shooters in Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy.
While Texas Tech did a great job of disrupting the Michigan State offense on Saturday by denying low post opportunities, they will need to do the opposite here. Virginia’s offense flows best when they can set up open threes for Guy and Jerome, so Texas Tech needs to counter that by putting their most athletic defenders on those players.
3. Be patient offensively
Texas Tech’s defense is great, but so is Virginia’s Pack Line, which is content to clog passing lanes and make life difficult on opposing offenses. The Cavaliers thrive on forcing their opponents to make mistakes, and that is something Texas Tech cannot afford in a game where points will be at a premium.
Even though it may not lead to the most aesthetically pleasing basketball game, Texas Tech needs to run their offense and not simply settle for contested perimeter jumpers, using ball movement to create open opportunities. This won’t be an easy process and could result in a ton of shots coming late in the shot clock, but Texas Tech needs to trust their process and simply work on finding the best shot possible.
This game will be extremely low scoring, with oddsmakers setting an over/under point total at just 119 for the championship. The team that makes the fewest mistakes should be the one that cuts down the nets late on Monday night, and Texas Tech has shown that they are capable of that over their first five tournament games.