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Texas Tech Basketball: 3 reasons why the Red Raiders will be better than Texas in 2018-19

By Tristan Freeman

LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 13: The Texas Tech Red Raiders fans rush the court after the Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 72-71 on January 13, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 13: The Texas Tech Red Raiders fans rush the court after the Texas Tech Red Raiders defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 72-71 on January 13, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – MARCH 17: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders dribbles the ball while being guarded by KeVaughn Allen #5 of the Florida Gators in the second half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – MARCH 17: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders dribbles the ball while being guarded by KeVaughn Allen #5 of the Florida Gators in the second half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

2. Red Raiders’ huge edge in shooting

While the defense carried the load for the team this past season, Texas Tech was still able to score enough to win those games too. The middle of the road percentages combined with the elite rebounding and passing abilities they had propelled them to victories.

The Red Raiders will return two players (Jarrett Culver and Brandone Francis) who shot over 38% from three-point range last season. They also get another grad transfer Matt Mooney, who averaged 18.7 ppg while shooting over 36% from deep. He’ll be the replacement for Evans, who wasn’t as good a shooting.

Texas Tech was an above-average shooting team, which was much better than Texas has been the last couple of seasons. The Longhorns have been dreadful from long-range, ranked 321st in the country with 32% team percentage. With the exception of Andrew Jones (46% from deep), only two other returning players shot better than 32% as a team. Texas doesn’t have much spacing, with any of their frontcourt players being considered a good shooter.

Coach Smart does bring in five new recruits but none of them have elite shooting abilities. There have been many games where the lack of three-pointers have cost Texas and it might not get much better for 2018-19. Texas Tech isn’t the Golden State Warriors of college basketball but their shooting won’t hurt them nearly as much as their rivals.

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