Texas Tech’s stellar defensive performance in the first half of their Sweet 16 game against Michigan on Thursday night was not lost on Chris Beard.
The Red Raiders head coach joked that he owed his defensive assistants a raise after the team held Michigan to a meager 16 points in the first half.
“I was just thinking we should give our defensive coaches raises, and we should really have a talk with our offensive coaches at halftime,” Beard joked during his halftime interview on CBS. “This is a grind-it-out game. Michigan’s one of the best defensive teams in the country. We think it will come down to the final possession.”
A defensive struggle was anticipated between the two. As we pointed out here during the week, Michigan and Texas Tech are the top two teams in the country in KenPom’s adjusted defense metric. The Red Raiders had the big edge in the first half. The 16 points was the lowest amount for Michigan in a half in their NCAA Tournament history.
