TAMPA, Fla. (KCBD) – While the No. 5-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-10) have officially shifted gears to prepare for Sunday night’s late second-round contest, the team now looks ahead to the No. 4-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide (24-9)- led by guard Labaron Philon, Jr., who averages 22 points per game, and has also made it difficult for other coaches to scout him out, especially Tech men’s head coach Grant McCasland.
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“I just watched him play and had it on in the background of watching other teams we played, and so I tried to dissect some of it last night and then again this morning to try to get a feel for him, and I kept thinking like, ‘What can you take or what can he not do?, and every time I think I have a beat on it, it’s something else that he shows. He scored all the levels. passes so well. He’s competitive. His motor runs non-stop,” he said.
While Philon is joined by fellow guard Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. (12.7 ppg), Red Raider shooting guard Donovan Atwell says it will be essential to guard those two in order for Tech to keep its season going.
“Definitely the guard play. They’re very dynamic, they play fast so just keeping them contained and making sure we can keep finishing possessions the right way with rebounding and getting down to transition, so definitely the guard play is a big one, and they’re a great team in general, so it’s going to be a dogfight for sure, so we got to be ready,” he said.
Coach McCasland and Alabama’s head basketball coach Nate Oats have worked together in the offseason as part of USA Basketball. McCasland says from their shared experience, he’s well-familiar with Oats’ style of coaching.
“I thought his approach, and how competitive he is, and how honest he is, but how he believes in people was real and I really respected that about him. He didn’t shy away from a tough conversation, but he did it with belief and he did it with a purpose that I think builds people up, and that’s rare these days to find someone that has that competitiveness. He can get people to believe and really a ton of respect for the way he has his teams playing as hard as they play and as together as they play with the talent that they have.”
Tip-off for Sunday night’s game is set for 8:45 p.m. CT at the Benchmark International Arena. The game will be on TBS, and on the Texas Tech Radio Network.
The winner will move on to the Sweet Sixteen in Chicago, Ill. and face No. 1-seeded Michigan, who blasted the St. Louis Billikens 95-72 earlier Saturday.
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