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3 Takeaways From Texas Tech's Exhibition Loss Against Kentucky
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- 3 Takeaways From Texas Tech's Exhibition Loss Against Kentucky
(Texas Tech Athletics)
No. 19 Texas Tech wrapped up preseason exhibition play with a 76-65 loss to No. 23 Kentucky on Friday.
The Red Raiders had a balanced scoring night with five players scoring at least nine; meanwhile, the Wildcats got a bit more juice on the offensive end with four players scoring at least 13.
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Here are our takeaways ahead of Texas Tech's regular-season tip-off on Nov. 2.
Size down low is an issue without Toppin and Stillwell
On the surface, you can look at the box score and say Texas Tech won the rebound battle 33-29 and only had two fewer points in the paint.
Rebounding is a bit skewered because Tech got a lot of offensive rebounds off of long shots. If we look at defensive rebounding, the Red Raiders lost 20-17.
What made the difference in this one was Kentucky taking advantage of positional advantages in the paint.
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Wildcat center Malachi Moreno went 6-of-9 under the rim for 15 points and pulled down six rebounds. The 7-footer was getting baskets going over the top of shorter Texas Tech defenders.
With Bassala Bagayoko still learning the college game, he was a touch slow contesting shots at the rim, while Josiah Moseley couldn't match Moreno's physicality, picking up four fouls in the game.
The good news is, we know Toppin is expecting a return at some point before or during conference play (December), and Stillwell is filing for an injunction in Lubbock, so your veteran front court is on the way.
Just wait a little longer.
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Damarion Dennis will be a factor in the rotation for Grant McCasland
Of all the transfers Texas Tech brought in during the offseason, arguably the most underrated one is Demarion Dennis, the 6-1 guard coming from Wyoming.
Dennis made a living for himself with his ability to play bigger than his height and always be around the rim, especially on offensive rebounding.
At Wyoming, he averaged just over one offensive rebound a game last year, which was top-10 among all guards in college basketball, and moving to high-major basketball, he didn't take a step back.
He finished the exhibition with two offensive rebounds to go with 11 points, two assists, and two steals/blocks.
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We saw Dennis' ability to get downhill on full display with several great drives that finished with high-arching floaters at the rim, two of which over the 7-0 Moreno.
Above all, he was arguably the most competitive player for Texas Tech, getting in opponents' faces, showing emotion a ton on the court, and being aggressive on defense.
Dennis played just over 25 minutes, and we expect him to keep playing real minutes once the season starts.
Defense can be more disruptive than in previous years
One factor on the defensive end that Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland wants his team to be better at is forcing turnovers and getting points off of them.
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Last season, the Red Raiders as a team averaged six steals a game which was 265th nationally.
FYI, there are 365 D1 teams.
In fact, the most steals per game in a season from a McCasland-led team was 6.3 in 24-25.
Against a Kentucky team that had 20 turnovers in their first exhibition against Little Rock, Texas Tech got right at that previous average with six steals on the night. There were several other possessions where Tech also poked the ball free or out of bounds.
Four Red Raiders finished with steals, and they were led by Darrion Williams, who had three.
Texas Tech finished the game having forced 11 turnovers and turning them into 15 points on the other end.
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If Texas Tech is already causing teams to turn the ball over over 10 times, then there is potential for your defense to cause more disruption when they continue to play together.
READ MORE: Dave Aranda Firing Changes Texas Tech's November Road Test
The Red Raiders are heading into the regular season with teams like Illinois, Duke, and Louisville early on the schedule, and having an exhibition against a preseason-ranked team in Kentucky can prove to have been very beneficial.
Texas Tech will start the regular season against Jackson State at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock on Nov. 2.
