Notre Dame Basketball: Keys to upsetting Texas Tech in Round of 32

Mar 18, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Blake Wesley (0) and guard Prentiss Hubb (3) and guard Cormac Ryan (5) and forward Nate Laszewski (14) react in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

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JD Davison Alabama Crimson Tide Nate Laszewski Notre Dame Basketball (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

3. Crash the glass on both ends, limit turnovers

It is no secret that Texas Tech is a scrappy, bigger team that features multiple guys with great motors that translate to both ends of the floor. Texas Tech is definitely more known for its defense, but can definitely fill it up on the offensive end of the floor too.

Notre Dame will really need to crash the glass on both offense and defense to limit Texas Tech to prevent second and third chance opportunities. According to the NCAA stat section on their site, Texas Tech comes in as the 127th best team in the country when it comes to offensive rebounding, while Notre Dame is way farther down on the list coming in at 333rd.

Notre Dame does hold the advantage on the defensive end when it comes to defensive rebounding coming in as the 67th ranked team in the country, while Texas Tech is tied for 119th. If Notre Dame is able to have a few of the bounces go their way rebounding on the offensive end while keeping the Red Raiders off the glass on offense this could be huge in pulling off the upset.

If Notre Dame is able to beat Texas Tech they will need to take care of the ball and not turn it over. Ever since Mike Brey has been at the helm he really has preached taking care of the ball and not turning it over. This year’s roster is no different as they are the 18th best team in the country when it comes to turnovers per game.

Notre Dame was very loose with the ball against Alabama with seventeen turnovers in the game. They will need to tighten that up against a Texas Tech team who loves to turn over their opponents. Something worth noting is that the Red Raiders are not known for taking care of the basketball as much as the Irish as they comes in at 283rd in the country. Turnovers in tournament games always are huge deciding factors on who ends up coming away with the victory and moving on in March Madness.

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