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Texas Tech basketball: Tonight’s gave vs. Ok. State will test Red Raiders’ maturity

By Matthew Conner

Feb 17, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Keenan Evans (12) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma Sooners center Jamuni McNeace (4) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 65-63. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Keenan Evans (12) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma Sooners center Jamuni McNeace (4) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 65-63. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the past two months the Texas Tech basketball team has been in the role of the underdog. But after three consecutive wins over top-25 teams, Tubby Smith’s Red Raiders head into Stillwater, Oklahoma tonight as the hunted rather than the hunter. How they respond in this new role will reveal quite a bit about the young team’s maturity.

Oklahoma State enters tonight’s game with a 12-14 mark on the season. Its 3-10 conference record has the Cowboys sitting in ninth place in the league. What’s more, Travis Ford’s squad has lost six of its last eight games and is without its best player, true freshman point guard Jawun Evans who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Evans sustained the injury the last time the Cowboys and Red Raiders squared off. On February 4th, Evans exited the first half of Texas Tech’s 63-61 overtime win in Lubbock.

Since that night, the two teams have gone in opposite directions. Now, Texas Tech finds itself in a new position as a team with the target on its back.

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The Cowboys have little to play for with virtually no shot of earning an NCAA Tournament birth. It is likely that the Gallagher Iba Arena crowd will be far less than capacity tonight and the energy in the building could be less than electric to say the least.

This is a classic trap game for a Texas Tech basketball team that is not accustomed to being the favorite. Coming off of three emotional victories, the challenge for Tubby Smith will be to ensure that his team plays this game with the same passion and energy that is has in its last three contests.

While there is no question that Texas Tech’s young team has made monumental strides in year three of Smith’s head coaching tenure, it remains to be seen whether this team’s core of sophomore players is mature enough to keep from playing down to the level of its competition.

This is where senior Toddrick Gotcher and junior Aaron Ross must step forward and set the tone.

Gotcher was the unsung hero of the Red Raiders’ win over Oklahoma. His strong defense and tireless hustle throughout the game was a key factor in the Texas Tech upset. Tonight, he must bring the same level of intensity to the court from the opening tip.

Ross must also continue to set the tone offensively. The forward’s ability to hit shots from the perimeter has been key to Texas Tech’s offensive success. By forcing his defender to cover him away from the basket, he has opened driving lanes for players like point guard Keenan Evans and forwards Zach Smith and Justin Gray.

In the season’s first matchup, Oklahoma State jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind the strong play of Evans while Texas Tech was sluggish offensively. Tonight, it would be wise for the Red Raiders to jump out to an early lead taking the crowd out of the game and demoralizing the struggling Cowboys.

If Texas Tech allows the Cowboys to stay close for the majority of the game or worse, falls behind big, it could be the upset victim tonight. Earlier this season, the Cowboys defeated then No. 3 Kansas 86-67 in Stillwater proving once again that anything can happen in the Big 12.

However, the Cowboys’ star, Evans was key in that victory scoring 22 points on the night. But even without Evans on the floor, Texas Tech must not lose focus this evening.

Gallagher Iba Arena has been a house of horrors for Texas Tech basketball. Of the last 26 games in Stillwater between the two teams, Oklahoma State has won 23.

There is no telling how a young team will react to its first taste of success and national attention. Far too often, Texas Tech fans have seen the Red Raiders (in many sports, not just basketball) stub their toe against an inferior opponent just after building momentum by pulling off upsets.

Next: Video of the post-OU celebration

If it is able to go into Stillwater tonight and take care of business against a struggling opponent, the Texas Tech basketball team will once again prove that it has improved, this time in an intangible category; maturity.

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