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3 takeaways as Texas Tech pummels Iowa State: Red Raiders’ defense returns to full form

Improved free-throw shooting and offensive rebounds propel Texas Tech to a runaway victory,

Here are three key takeaways after Texas Tech crushed Iowa State 72-60 on Tuesday:

Another rock fight

Iowa State and Texas Tech tapped into their identities in their first matchup of this season, playing a 51-47 game as the Cyclones walked away with a win. With Terrence Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar back in action for Texas Tech, there may have been speculation that an increase in offense would show up. But in the first half of the rematch, both teams played a very similar game to that we saw in the first. Texas Tech went into the break with a 26-23 lead. The Red Raiders shot 38% from the field, while the Cyclones shot 31%. The low-scoring contest seemed to play into Texas Tech’s favor, allowing its lengthy defenders to showcase their strengths. This theme continued for Iowa State in the second half, while the Red Raiders’ offense found a sixth gear that allowed them to runaway with the game.

The glue guy

The Red Raiders sorely missed McCullar in Ames against the Cyclones. He didn’t take long to make a noticeable impact on this game. McCullar ended the first half with four points, four rebounds and three steals. Those may not be record-breaking numbers for McCullar, but his value far exceeded the box score in the first frame. He played exceptional on-ball defense, grabbed a couple of key boards while Texas Tech was struggling to box out and made a number of impressive passes to open teammates. McCullar has adjusted well to more ball-handling this season, and it showed up in a big way in the first half.

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Obanor had a quiet first half, going just 1-of-3 from the field and missing both his free-throw attempts. He quickly corrected his wrongs with a dominant start to the second half. Obanor grabbed three quick offensive rebounds within the first eight minutes of the half, which he easily turned into nine points. As Iowa State forced Texas Tech to take difficult shots, Obanor was reliable under the rim to grab the ones the Red Raiders couldn’t knock down. He was a pivotal source of offense for Texas Tech to build a monster lead in the second half.

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