NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from first night of Sweet 16

By Brian Rauf | Mar 29, 2019

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Ryan Cline #14 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after a three pointer against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates after making a basket and drawing a foul against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Texas Tech 63, Michigan 44

Yes, Texas Tech’s defense is that good
The Red Raiders own the nation’s top-rated defense and had perhaps their most notable performance on Thursday, limiting Michigan to just 44 points – the fewest points ever scored by a No. 2 seed. I’ve been saying for a while that Michigan has had some major problems offensively but Texas Tech put on an absolute clinic.

And it’s something they’ve done all tournament long. In the first round, they held a Northern Kentucky team that shot 48.1 percent from the field on the season to just 37.1 percent shooting. Buffalo was a 46.4 percent shooting team that was limited to 36.5 percent by Texas Tech in the second round.

Michigan made 45.1 percent of their shots during the season – they made only 32.7 percent against the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech will have to slow the nation’s most efficient offense if they’re going to make the Final Four for the first time ever, and their track record shows they have the capability.

Texas Tech’s slow starts are alarming
Everyone spent a good 30 minutes joking about the offenses in this game when the score was 6-6 after 10 minutes and just 24-16 at halftime. Obviously, Texas Tech got its offense going, but the slow start is something to monitor.

Why? It’s what sunk them in the Big 12 Tournament against West Virginia and kept NKU around longer than they should have. The Red Raiders had the defense to keep NKU and Michigan close before they found their offense, but WVU was able to build an advantage Texas Tech was unable to overcome.

Chris Beard’s squad is good enough to limit Gonzaga’s offense but, if they go through a stretch where they only score six points in 10 minutes, the Zags are going to build a huge lead. Texas Tech can’t afford to put themselves at a disadvantage like that against a team as good as Gonzaga.

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