Texas Tech looks to lean on defense against Villanova attack

Unfortunately, they’ll have to get by a talented Villanova team in the East regional final Sunday afternoon in Boston. It makes for good conversation because he wants to play.

Texas Tech are headed to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

But against Purdue, Texas Tech was fantastic from the charity stripe.

A walk-on named Avery Benson stood in the corner, chuckling while wearing a big black cowboy hat, which has become a talisman for the team throughout the year.

Just as impressive was the job Tech did on Vincent Edwards. It will be more of the same when the Wildcats take on the Red Raiders (27-9) for a spot in the Final Four. Huddled together in the corner of the court, the entire team belted out “The Matador Song” with the school band. “Go from not making the tournament at all to the Elite Eight“. SFA held a three-point lead at halftime, but the Red Raiders roared back in the second half, scoring 43.

They drained 13 treys Friday in their Sweet 16 win over West Virginia, giving them 432 on the season. But, the Boilermakers dominated the second half, outscoring Cal State Fullerton, 44-27. They needed to see this breakthrough.

“Winning never gets old”, said Evans, who led Texas Tech with 16 points. He was raked in the face by Zhaire Smith, shoved around by Norense Odiase and had his shot rudely blocked by Justin Gray.

Purdue would briefly rally, pulling within two points, but Evans eventually found a groove.

Villanova junior guard Jalen Brunson is the leading scorer (19.3) on a team with six players who average 10 or more points per game.

In his first season at Texas Tech previous year, the defensive coordinator engineered a system that limited opponents to 67.1 points per game – which was good enough for third place in the Big 12.

Afterward, the vibe in the Tech locker room was unmistakable: They expected this. He had scored just seven points total in the Red Raiders’ first two tournament wins and hadn’t scored in double figures since February 21. They knew they had enough depth, enough firepower to wear down the Boilermakers regardless. “So we feel for Purdue not being full-strength”. “We kind of had two similar seasons in a row”. We play pickup games in the summer and the team that gets the stop gets the point not the offense. “It’s our formula. It’s not a secret”.

Before Brandone Francis landed at Texas Tech, he dreamed of playing at the University of Florida. Texas Tech was content to let Edwards get his points but it clamped down on his teammates.

Defensively, senior defensive lineman Tony Jones also had a big play alongside Parker in a fumble recovery. Villanova, for my money, has been the best team in the nation from the start of the year until now.

Oh, and wear that hat. We’ve got really great players.

Here’s everything you need to know about Texas Tech’s matchup.

After paying UNLV a $1 million buyout, Beard quoted legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who once left Texas A&M: “When momma calls, you gotta go home“. “He was like, ‘You better bring it (to Boston)'”. The Red Raiders are tough, and athletic on the offensive end. “I think that’s a really valuable game for us, really valuable”.