In the Sweet 16, Michigan will face another defensive stalwart in Texas Tech Thursday night.
The Red Raiders advanced to the West regional semifinals by defeating Northern Kentucky 72-57 and Buffalo 78-58.
“We're not supposed to be here,” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said after the Buffalo game. “They picked up bottom of the Big 12 and haven't gotten much respect this year, but these guys have continued to keep a chip on their shoulder and just realize that we can do a lot of things if we play as a team.
“I thought that's what we did tonight, we guarded at a high level. Had different guys step up offensively until the game got all sloppily late but one of our cleaner games this year. Texas Tech basketball the story this year is team. Play for the guy next to us. I've never been more proud of a team I coached.”
For the first time in program history, Texas Tech is in the Sweet 16 back-to-back seasons.
“I'm glad to be a part of it, making history like that. It's a blessing to be a part of something that special,” sophomore forward Jarrett Culver said. “Coach Beard came to Texas Tech and built a great culture. We all bought in and carried us a long way.”
This season, Texas Tech is 28-6 with a 5-2 record in neutral court games. Prior to losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament 79-74, the Red Raiders had won nine straight games. Texas Tech has won 13 of its last 15 games heading into the Sweet 16.
The matchup between these two teams should be a defensive slugfest. Texas Tech has the No. 1 defense, according to Kenpom, while Michigan has the No. 2 defense in the country. Opponents have an a effective field goal percentage of 42.8, which is the second lowest in the nation. The Red Raiders’ defense has an turnover percentage of 23.1, which ranks tenth in the country.
Culver leads the Red Raiders, averaging 18.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Senior point guard Matt Mooney scores 10.9 points per game and dishes out 3.3 assists per game.
Senior center Tariq Owens is averaging 8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He has the 11th best block rate in the nation along with the 20th best two-point shooting percentage at 68.5 percent.
Sophomore Davide Moretti is Texas Tech’s best three-point shooter at 45.4 percent, which is the 36th best in college basketball. He is the Red Raiders second-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook
