Texas Tech basketball's 3-0 start comes with concerns | Giese

The confines of United Supermarkets Arena haven't been all too friendly to the Texas Tech basketball team to begin the 2023-24 season.

That does sound a bit harsh. The Red Raiders, after all, are 3-0 to start the Grant McCasland era. No sense denying winning is the ultimate goal, which Tech has been able to do.

How those wins have come out, however, leave much to be desired. McCasland admitted as much after the team's 73-64 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday.

"Playing at home makes a big difference," McCasland said. "There was an energy in the building and we got a few stops and got a few baskets in transition, but we didn't play very well and I've got to do a better job of helping us."

Each of Tech's first three games showed where the team needs improvements as the tougher non-conference games are on the horizon.

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After a 5-for-24 showing from 3-point range against the Islanders, the Red Raiders are shooting 20.6% from beyond the arc.

Tech has shown a tendency to go cold in this area, which dates back to the exhibition against Texas A&M. In Denton, the Red Raiders missed their first seven shots from deep before going 14-for-27 the rest of the way. They started 0-for-12 against San Jose State and 0-for-9 to begin the Corpus Christ encounter.

Unlike the exhibition, the Red Raiders haven't been able to heat up after cold starts. Heck, they made more 3s in that exhibition than they have in their three regular season games combined.

Chance McMillian, who scored a game-high 17 points against Corpus Christi, is 3-for-13 from deep so far. He said Thursday that the Red Raiders are simply missing shots they'd normally hit and it'll all work itself out eventually.

"We're just going to have to find our rhythm," McMillian said. "... We're not in rhythm right now, but we're going to push the rhythm."

McCasland agreed with the Grand Canyon transfer to an extent, but added there's a reason Tech isn't in rhythm.

"Honestly, it feels like we're a half second late on making the right read or half a second late on delivering the ball to the right guy on time, on target," McCasland said. "And maybe we're half a second on shooting the one that could be a better one for somebody else.

"I honestly love this group. I do believe we'll get it right. We've got time to get it right, but we've got to do a better job of playing for each other."

Ball movement, and ball security, are two aspects of "playing for each other," both of which Tech has struggled with to this point.

Tech has had double-digit assists in each of their three games. Assists account for 47% of the team's total made shots. Last year's team assisted on 49% of their made shots.

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With another 17 on Thursday, Texas Tech has turned it over 46 times this season. This also drops the team's assist-to-turnover ratio to 33-to-46. The 2022-23 Red Raiders finished at 413-to-441, the first time with a negative ratio since the 2014-15 campaign.

Each of these deficits can be attributed to one key aspect: the Red Raiders simply haven't put together a complete game yet.

"When we step in to a really tough road swing," McCasland said, "we're going to play legit Big 12-type teams, and how do you prepare every day and how do you prepare every second when you play in that urgency? We're still trying to figure that out."

McCasland said before the season he set up the team's non-conference schedule to earn some wins, learn on the fly and better prepare themselves for life in the Big 12. They're two-for-three so far.

Games like Thursday's win served the purpose he set out to attain. It also brought some realities to the forefront as the schedule gets tougher, starting with next week's Battle 4 Atlantis.

"I told the guys when we went into the locker room that I love this team," McCasland said. "I really do. I love this group, but that's not going to win. That's not going to win the the Big 12, what we did today.

"It's nice to win and learn, but that can't be our effort for 40 minutes as a team, and I've got to do a better job preparing us as a group that we have that urgency that we need on both sides."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball's 3-0 start comes with concerns | Giese