The Texas Tech Red Raiders went 1-1 on the week, and there were many great individual performances. While guys such as Mac McClung and Terrence Shannon Jr. had higher point scoring totals, there was no more dominant player on the floor than Marcus Santos Silva. He led the team in rebounding and recorded season highs in minutes in both games this week. He also did a better job of defending without fouling, something that increases his effectiveness.
After the loss to West Virginia, Santos-Silva told reporters that foul trouble held the team back. Coach Beard made similar remarks stating, “We didn’t recruit Marcus to play 20 minutes a game”. Since that game, Santos-Silva has looked like an almost different player. He totaled 27 minutes in a loss to Kansas on the 20th of February.
This week, he took his game to the next level. In an overtime loss to Oklahoma State, Santos Silva totaled eight points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and most importantly, 33 minutes. He is the largest player on this Texas Tech team and having him on the floor makes the Tech better.
Saturday against Texas, Santos-Silva not only competed with, but often outplayed bigger and faster athletes from Texas. He affected the game on both ends of the floor totaling nine rebounds and ten points in a 68-59 over the 14th-ranked Longhorns. He again played over 30 minutes and did so without getting a foul.
This appears to be just the beginning for a player that is crucial to the success of the Red Raiders.
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Good choice. Santos-Silva has been an asset for this team all season, but in recent games he has excelled beyond expectations. He was easily my choice against UT for Player of the game. He has continued after that game to own the paint, causing foes to alter their strategy. The last week and beyond will be fun to watch as Santos-Silva continues his dominating play.