McCasland readies Texas Tech for a hostile "street fight" against an explosive, undefeated Colorado squad, demanding gritty play and total team effort.
If Grant McCasland sounds like a man who’s been in a fight this week, that’s because he has. Or at least his team has.
Texas Tech heads to Boulder for a 6 p.m. CT showdown Saturday against a Colorado team that’s 2-0 in Big 12 play and a rugged 9-1 at home, and McCasland didn’t sugarcoat what the Red Raiders are walking into.
After a bruising loss at No. 7 Houston, the message has been simple: recover, reset, and get ready to scrap again.
“It was good to get back to practice. We need it,” McCasland said. “Obviously, playing in a physical game at Houston, it’s always a recovery game because it takes everything we’ve got to win it. They are the best team in our league since I’ve been here… It was an outstanding college game that we didn’t finish. We can play better than we did and we can improve.”
That urgency carries over to Colorado, a team McCasland clearly respects, and maybe fears a little, in the healthy-coach way.
“We’re playing an undefeated Colorado team now and we better be ready,” he said. “They are playing with great offensive pace. They have great scorers and are difficult to defend.”
McCasland pointed first to Colorado’s guard play and depth, noting a clear difference from last season.
“I think their guard play and scoring is awesome offensively,” he said. “It feels like this team has more weapons… They do have experience coming back, and that helps when you have experience at the rim. They also have a freshman who is tremendous. You can see their confidence in the way they’re playing.”
The biggest challenge, though, may be physical.
“They’re probably one of the biggest teams in college basketball,” McCasland said. “Their size at the wing and forward spots and overall length and size is tremendous. You’ve got to beat them from your activity… You have to hit first. It will be a team rebounding game with our guards.”
And then there’s the road. Or as McCasland put it ... a “dogfight.”
“Those road games are dogfights,” he said. “The momentum is rarely in your favor and you have to create your own momentum. The way you do that is with extra effort plays.”
If you're watching Saturday, don't just track shots, watch effort. Loose balls, defensive rebounds, first contact. If Tech wins those, it has a chance. If not, Boulder has a way of swallowing teams whole.
Big 12 basketball doesn’t give you time to feel sorry for yourself. McCasland knows it. His team knows it. Now comes the part where Texas Tech proves it.