Texas Tech’s defense is generating one of college basketball’s most unprecedented turnarounds

Texas Tech basketball coach Chris Beard, who’s in his second season leading the program, began creating ways to motivate his players when he tipped off his head coaching stint at Fort Scott Community College in 1999. He cited the importance of improving his motivational tactics — similar to the product on the court.

He has now begun handing out a gold-link chain — featuring two Ts — for whomever racks up the most rebounds in a game, along with a championship belt for the Texas Tech player who notches the lion’s share of deflections in a contest.

Move over, Miami Hurricanes football. Texas Tech has officially topped your bling.

The 44-year-old basketball preacher said he recognized those efforts are built from an intense, defensive culture.

“I always got kind of a kick going out and recruiting, and you see these teams that have on the back of their shorts, ‘Defense wins,’ and then I watch a two-hour practice, and they don’t work on defense one time,” Beard said. “Defense to us is more than a T-shirt or bracelet or something on our asses on our practice shorts. It’s something that we believe in.”

Following their 75-70 win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday, the Red Raiders (16-4, 5-3) — ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25 and USA Today coaches’ poll — boast the fifth-best defensive efficiency in the country with .87 opponents’ points per possession. They’re also tied for the fourth-best scoring defense (62.0) and for the 10th-lowest opponents’ field-goal percentage (39.3).

Texas Tech placed just 111th, 49th, and 131st in those departments, respectively, last season. Hence, the Red Raiders are in the midst of a 180-degree turnaround, thanks to their defensive artistry.

For forward Norense Odiase, the key to controlling the action of that end of the floor stems from rebounding. The junior’s team-high 5.1 rebounds per game have aided that effort, as his team is tied at 16th-highest in rebounding margin (plus-6.9) among Division I schools. He and Beard agreed that assistant coach Mark Adams represents their “defensive coordinator.”

“He (Adams) does a great job of bringing that energy and focus to practice every day, getting his guys to buy into his plans on the defensive end,” Odiase said. “We’re just products of that and just trying to feed off of him.”

The 6’9, 245-pound forward also noted the impact of point guard Keenan Evans, who’s averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game. The senior produced 20 points in the team’s 72-71 win over then-No. 2 West Virginia on Jan. 13, including a pull-up jumper to make it a two-possession game with 38 seconds left.

“Seeing him on the court and his talents, he’s just getting more confident as the game goes on,” Odiase said. “We feed off of him, whenever he brings it with scoring or defensively.”

Overall, Texas Tech sits tied for 49th in the nation in offensive efficiency, good for 1.07 points per possession.

Additionally, Evans said he has remained confident in his three-point shot despite his percentage dipping 11.7 percent from last season, as it currently sits at 31.5 percent. The 6’3, 190-pound guard continually stressed how the group’s physical on-ball defense is necessary to manufacture better looks in transition.

In the Red Raiders’ aforementioned victory over the Cowboys — overcoming a 15-point deficit in the second half — he scored 22 of his 26 points in the final 20 minutes. Their run was thanks to a 5:46 span of Oklahoma State failing to hit a field goal.

Beard credited depth for Texas Tech’s elite defense, which typically consists of an eight-to-nine man rotation. As a result, Evans’ playing time (28.0 mpg) has decreased by 2.4 minutes from his junior campaign, lending him a bit more energy down the stretch at both ends of the floor.

“I just love the part where he (Beard) lets you be competitive,” Evans said. “Let’s you get after people, make other people uncomfortable. Force people to take tough shots.”

Texas Tech’s game plan was evident in the program’s first-ever win at Allen Fieldhouse over then-No. 10 Kansas on Jan. 2, holding the Jayhawks to a 23.1 percent clip from behind the arc and outrebounding them 44-29. That was enough to overcome Evans’ 4-of-16 shooting performance, as well as just six minutes from senior forward Zach Smith, who was limited with a left ankle injury. Smith hasn’t played since Jan. 6 because of a broken foot.

However, the Red Raiders have seen playmakers scorch their ice-cold operation.

Oklahoma point guard Trae Young — the nation’s leader in scoring (30.3 ppg) and assists per game (9.6) — racked up 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the second half of the Sooners’ 75-65 win over Evans’ unit on Jan. 9; he scored a mere five points via 1-of-12 shooting in the first half. Plus, Mountaineers’ guard Jevon Carter strung together 28 points in the loss in Lubbock, Texas.

“The difference between an NCAA tournament season, and maybe an NIT season, is literally three or four possessions (in Big 12 play),” Beard said. “I think what’s really important is you gotta stay the course. You can’t get too high after a win; you can’t get too low after nights you don’t win. I think that starts with your coaching staff, setting the tone.”