Texas Tech Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Red Raiders to beat DePaul

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 05: Forward TJ Holyfield #22 and center Russel Tchewa #54 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders flex during the second half of the college basketball game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at United Supermarkets Arena on November 05, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: Jahmi’us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

1. Guards step up whether Ramsey plays or not

What I haven’t mentioned yet in the Texas Tech losses is that they did it without its star player Jahmi’us Ramsey. He was injured midway through the Iowa game and was unable to play against Creighton the following day. The freshman guard is already off to a great start, leading the team with 17.3 ppg and already has a team freshman record of 27 points against LIU Brooklyn. It would’ve been nice to see him against legit competition healthy but we’ll likely have to wait until conference play.

Hamstring injuries are very difficult to have a timetable for so it’s 50/50 whether Ramsey will play Wednesday night. And even if he does, his athleticism and ability to move around on the court will be limited anyways. But Texas Tech can’t lean on that excuse, as they still have capable guards who can fill his spot.

Junior guard Davide Moretti will have to shoulder the scoring load, averaging 14.3 ppg and coming off his best performance of the season, going for 23 points against Creighton. Kyler Edwards may not have the scoring numbers many expected coming into his sophomore season but has become the team’s best passer (4.1 apg) and helping out on the boards (more on that later). Freshman guards Kevin McCullar and Clarence Nadolny will have a role to play and even reserve Avery Benson has been getting minutes.

All of them will have to deal with DePaul’s Charlie Moore, who has been fantastic to start the season. He’s coming off a 21-point, 12-assist game against Minnesota and is averaging 21.1 ppg and 6.6 apg. With Edwards having his hands full on the defensive end for this game, Moretti needs to have a good offensive night for Texas Tech to have a shot.

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