As Texas Tech’s leading scorer, Mike Singletary understands what it’s like to have opponents build their defensive game plan around shutting him down. So he thinks he knows just what the Red Raiders did to take OSU’s James Anderson out of his offense on Saturday.

“We played him a little more physical this time, and I think that kind of got in his head,” Singletary said. “Every time he went to the rack he got fouled pretty hard, so as a good player, whenever you get fouled like that it gets in your mind to settle.”

Anderson settled for softer offense and just 10 points in Tech’s 81-74 win Saturday, down from the 28 he scored in defeating Tech 81-52 in Stillwater, Okla., on Jan. 9. Tech, on the other hand, ignited its defensive effort, forcing 21 turnovers and picking off 13 steals.

OSU point guard Keiton Page noticed the way Tech added pressure across its offense.

“We noticed it from the tip-off,” Page said. “Their intensity was just that much higher than the first time we played them. They just pressured the ball and got out and tried to deny passing lanes and they were just aggressive with us.”

Tech point guard John Roberson said the defensive boost paid off when Tech’s offense fell flat. The Raiders shot just 34.6 percent in the first half and 38.9 percent for the game, but held the Cowboys to 34.5 percent at halftime and 39.3 percent overall.

“We forced nine turnovers in the first half, and I think that’s what helped us scoring from our defense,” Roberson said. “We weren’t really getting buckets on the offensive end, but once we started playing defense we started we started getting layups, getting easy buckets, and that’s when we got into our rhythm.”

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