Texas Tech beats Texas A&M 89-84 in exhibition game

DENTON, TX (KCBD) - The highly anticipated matchup between No. 15 Texas A&M and Texas Tech Men’s Basketball lived up to the hype on Sunday.

New Head Coach Grant McCasland coached in his first game with Texas Tech in a venue he’s known for the past six years in the University of North Texas’s Super Pit.

His guys, much younger and less experienced than the Aggies, held through thick and thin from the tip. Texas Tech shot the three and shot it well, going 8-20 (40%) in the first half and 6-14 (43%)) in the second. Texas Tech led 40-37 at the half.

Pop Isaacs was one of four Red Raiders in double figures as he led the way with 30 points, 9-13 FG’s, 6-10 3-pt-FGs. Joining him was Chance McMillian (17), Devan Cambridge (14) and Lamar Washington with 13.

Coach McCasland stressed in the off season that they would want to run the floor faster and dominate in transition. They did that Sunday, outscoring the Aggies 28-8 in transition offense. Two things to work on after the exhibition: turnovers (Texas A&M won 21-11) and rebounding (Texas A&M won 42-28).

Texas Tech finished the game shooting 50% from the floor and 41% from three, showing that when they hit their shots, it becomes pretty hard to take them down.

One last area of concern early on - free throws. Texas Tech went 19-29 (65.5%) from the stripe Sunday, three of which came in the final stages from Pop Isaacs, which he made up for by forcing a turnover, leading to a dunk. Free throws, a problem last year, a problem that can be fixed, it all comes down to the routine of the player, not much can be done from the coaching staff.

Once again, only a scrimmage, but hopefully this acts as a teaser for how good this team can be.

Texas Tech will host their first regular season game Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. from the United Supermarkets Arena.

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