A day after unveiling the 2023-24 non-conference slate, Texas Tech basketball coach Grant McCasland said he liked how the schedule unfolded.
He noted the two 2023 NCAA Tournament teams heading to Lubbock, the guaranteed battle with Villanova in the Battle 4 Atlantis and the clash with Vanderbilt in Fort Worth as the schedule’s strength.
McCasland also admitted last Wednesday the slate is designed for the team he has on hand. That is, a Red Raiders roster loaded with newcomers playing for an entirely new coaching staff in a mostly new system of basketball.
“We wanted to play a schedule that we felt really would challenge us,” McCasland said, “but would also give us an opportunity to grow as a team because we need to grow. We just got a lot of newcomers and a lot of guys without NCAA Tournament experience on our current roster, so how do you mold those together? We felt like this schedule really will help us with that.”
McCasland’s strategy for assembling Tech’s non-conference schedule isn’t much different from the rest of the country, though it does beg the question the rest of college basketball could stand to answer for their early season games.
Where’s the beef?
Texas Tech men’s basketball head coach Grant McCasland addresses the crowd during a welcome event, Monday, April 3, 2023, at United Supermarkets Arena.
Comparing the competition
Texas Tech has avoided bringing high-quality power conference games to Lubbock outside of Big 12 play. This far predates McCasland’s time as head coach, which spans five months. Tubby Smith was the last coach that attempted to spice up Tech’s non-conference home slate. Chris Beard ended that practice upon his arrival and Mark Adams followed suit.
Teams across the country share this scheduling model — Mike Krzyzewski was notorious for avoiding tough home games. The exceptions to these come with conference challenges, multi-team events (MTEs) and the growing number of one-off games at neutral sites.
From the offseason: Setting roster, staff part…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/grant-mccasland-bring-texas-tech-090251282.html?src=rss
Author : Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Publish date : 2023-09-17 09:02:51
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