BY JEFF WALKER
A-J SPORTS EDITOR

Pat Knight has given his players some freedom this season, but he’s also not afraid to take some of it back.

After a loss to Lamar earlier this season, players were instructed to be clean shaven by the next practice.

Grooming was on the docket again following Saturday’s loss to Texas, as senior guard Alan Voskuil sported a shorter hair style, similar to what he’s had the last three years, on Tuesday.
Knight said he encouraged the change.

Texas Tech's D'walyn Roberts dunks the ball against the University of Colorado Tuesday night at United Spirit Arena. (John A. Bowersmith/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

“You ever see the movie ‘Bull Durham’?,’’ the Texas Tech coach asked. “He’s got the flip-flops that have got fungus on them. When you win 20 in the show, it’s colorful. If not, it means you’re a slob.’’

Voskuil isn’t the only Tech player needing a new look heading into back-to-back road games.

The Red Raiders won their first Big 12 Conference game of the season on Tuesday, beating Colorado, 63-55, despite committing 19 turnovers and shooting poorly from the floor again.

Knight’s goal heading into this season was to make his team play at a faster pace. The team is averaging seven more field-goal attempts per game than last year’s team, not including the game against Division II East Central (Okla.) — a statistician’s nightmare in a 167-155 Tech win.

Though they’re getting more shots, the Red Raiders aren’t doing a good job of converting.

Tech shot 43 percent against the Buffaloes, needing to shoot 46 percent in the second half to bring up a poor shooting performance (40 percent) prior to halftime.

The Red Raiders haven’t shot at least 50 percent from the field since Dec. 3, a 72-69 win over Wichita State in which Tech made 52 percent of its field goals.

Since then, Tech hasn’t made at least 45 percent of its field goals in seven of 10 games. Six of those games have been at United Spirit Arena, where the team is most familiar and should have a higher shooting percentage.

Knight said he’s working on getting better shots while maintaining a faster style of play.

“I put three x’s on the floor during practice (Monday), one on each wing and one on top. You want to push it up the floor to one of those three spots,” Knight said. “Whether they’re in zone or man, bust it up the floor and by the time you get up there, you’ll know if you can go all the way, get the shot, if somebody’s open, or if you don’t have anything, then you’re in perfect position to pass the ball when we get in our motion offense.

“Instead of walking the ball up, like we did against Texas, get it up there and get a good shot. We missed a lot of easy shots. We just haven’t shot well lately, about the last four or five games. When that happens, I think the offense will be better.”

Tech’s trio of sophomores — John Roberson, Mike Singletary and D’walyn Roberts — were the only Red Raiders who took more than two shots from the field against the Buffs and made at least 50 percent.

Rogdrick Craig, getting more playing time because Voskuil was ill, shot 1 for 7. Robert Lewandowski missed four of five field goals.

Nick Okorie has been slow to get back his shot since returning from an ankle injury. The transfer from South Plains College was 6 for 11 at Baylor, but he hasn’t shot well in any of the other five games — 3 for 9 against Colorado, 2 for 8 against Texas, 4 for 12 against Texas Christian, 1 for 5 against Stephen F. Austin and 1 for 6 against Stanford.

If the Red Raiders are going to have a chance at getting a win on the road, where they’re 0-4 thus far, they’re going to have to shoot well.

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Tuesday’s late box score
Texas Tech 63,
Colorado 55
COLORADO 55
FG FT REB
Min. M-A M-A O T PF A TP
Jackson-Wilson 29 1-2 0-0 1 3 5 2 2
Dufault 30 2-7 0-1 0 3 4 1 4
Tomlinson 37 3-8 0-0 1 4 1 1 9
Higgins 38 7-13 7-8 2 7 2 6 21
Thorne II 36 5-11 1-2 0 2 1 2 13
Veal 3 0-1 0-0 0 2 0 0 0
Knutson 18 0-4 2-2 1 2 3 1 2
Crawford 3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0
Eckloff 6 2-2 0-2 0 2 3 0 4
3 4
Totals 200 20-49 10-15 8 30 20 13 55
TEXAS TECH 63
FG FT REB
Min. M-A M-A O T PF A TP
Roberts 22 3-6 0-0 1 5 4 2 6
Prince 21 1-2 0-0 1 3 4 0 2
Suljagic 3 0-0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0
Voskuil 23 1-1 0-0 0 0 2 0 3
Roberson 35 5-10 1-1 0 2 0 6 13
Craig 20 1-7 0-0 0 2 2 0 3
Ray 3 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Lewandowski 14 1-5 2-3 1 5 1 1 4
Okorie 33 3-9 4-4 0 3 3 2 10
Cohadarevic 4 1-1 0-0 1 2 1 0 2
Singletary 22 7-12 6-12 4 9 2 1 20
3 4
Totals 200 23-53 13-20 12 37 20 12 63
Colorado 23 32 — 55
Texas Tech 27 36 — 63
Records: Colorado 8-9, 0-3 in Big 12 Conference; Texas Tech 11-7, 1-2. Shooting percentages: Colorado 40.8% FG, 33.3% 3-pt. FG, 66.7% FT; Texas Tech 43.4% FG, 26.7% 3-pt. FG, 65% FT. 3-point goals: Colorado 5-15 (Dufault 0-1, Tomlinson 3-5, Higgins 0-2, Thorne II 2-5, Knutson 0-2); Texas Tech 4-15 (Voskuil 1-1, Roberson 2-7, Craig 1-4, Okorie 0-3). Steals: Colorado 14 (Tomlinson 4, Higgin 3, Jackson-Wilson 2, Knutson 2, Dufault, Thorne II, Crawford); Texas Tech 10 (Okorie 3, Prince 2, Craig 2, Lewandowski 2, Singletary). Blocked shots: Colorado 2 (Jackson-Wilson, Veal); Texas Tech 5 (Roberts 2, Prince 2, Singletary). Turnovers: Colorado 20, Texas Tech 19. Total fouls: Colorado 20, Texas Tech 20. Fouled out: Jackson-Wilson. Technical fouls: None. Officials: Tom O’Neill, Gerry Pollard, Doug Shows. Attendance: 9,379.