Shooting From the Corner: Texas Tech Red Raiders at Texas Longhorns | Big 12 Tournament

The Texas Longhorns took care of business Thursday night against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, easily outdistancing the Red Raiders 65 - 53. This was a pretty easy game to diagnose; Texas' offensive flow was great most of the game. Any time the team has nearly twice as many assists(17) as turnovers(9), they're probably going to win. Yes, it's Texas Tech, but this kind of ball movement will be effective against anybody. Let's get to it.

Positives

• Isaiah Taylor had the following stat line: 12 points on 5/12 shooting, 7 assists to 2 turnovers, and 2 steals. Yea, that'll pretty much get it done. Taylor controlled the pace of the game from the tip to the final buzzer, and he was firing passes all over the court. It wasn't just that he was making passes, it was that he was making these kinds of passes:
  

• Cameron Ridley setup a tent in the paint against Tech. Actually, that's not accurate. It's more like Texas Tech was camping in the paint and Cam was a cyborg bear with a taste for human flesh. 14 points, and at least 12 of them were shot from within 4 feet of the basket. Also, he handled the double-team better than normal, including a nice cross-court pass to the open man on one of the doubles. If he can do that on a more regular basis, our guards are going to have a lot of open looks from the perimeter.
• Kendal Yancy isn't going to get much pub thanks to Taylor's night, but he had 13 points(5/9 shooting) and 5 assists with 0 turnovers in 33 minutes. You want to know why Texas looks better? Yancy is a big reason why. He's shooting with a significant amount of poise & confidence right now and he's repeatedly burning opponents on the offensive end of the floor. I may be looking forward to his junior season more than anybody else next year.
• Connor Lammert got the last laugh over his brother, Clark, who is a senior forward at Texas Tech. Connor also ended up with a nice line on the night: 7 points, 9 rebounds, and generally a solid facilitator all over the court. He had a great 'glue guy' game tonight.
• Texas had 8 steals on the night, a season high.

The Barking Carnival Memorial(™) Mixed Bag Category

• Jonathan Holmes is infuriatingly close to burying 3s by the bushel. 0/4 from beyond the arc, but none of them looked terrible when they left his hand. I can't explain why none of these 3s are falling, it's as if he's got a laser-guided missile but Kent keeps wiping oil on his mirrors. Holmes was active on the boards and had some good moments attacking the rim, so he's getting back into the groove in some parts of the offensive gameplan. 9 points & 8 rebounds is good, but it could've been 15 if his perimeter shot was a smidge better.

Negatives

• Myles Turner is 3 for his last 34 from 3 & hasn't made 2 in a single game in over 60 days. Maybe stay inside 15 feet for awhile, hoss.
• Could somebody give the team a lesson on tying their shoes? It seemed like half the team lost a wheel tonight.

Texas wins their first conference tournament game, extends their winning streak to 3 games, and probably maybe secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Tomorrow evening, they have a chance to cement their place in March Madness when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones. Tip is 6 PM Central on ESPNU.