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Despite loss to Duke, Texas Tech basketball emerges from NYC victorious

By Matthew Conner

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 20: Norense Odiase #32 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders stares down Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the game at the Ameritas Insurance Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 20: Norense Odiase #32 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders stares down Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the game at the Ameritas Insurance Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech basketball team may have dropped Thursday’s game to No. 2 Duke but the respect and notoriety the program earned by pushing the Blue Devils to the limit has been a huge victory for the Red Raiders.

When you are trying to build a program like Chris Beard is attempting to build in Lubbock, respect is often difficult to come by.  That’s why the Texas Tech basketball team’s hard-fought loss to Duke this week feels as much like a victory as any loss possibly could have.

To be clear, I despise the concept of moral victories.  Losing games is a frustrating and empty feeling, regardless of the opponent, and for far too long, the Texas Tech athletic department has had too many moral victories and not enough program-altering wins.

This is especially true of the football program which pushed Oklahoma and Texas to the brink this season only to find ways to lose both games.  And though Red Raider basketball finds itself in the midst of what may be the beginning of the program’s golden age, it too has had had its share moral victories.

We are quick to point out that Tech would have dethroned Kansas as Big 12 regular season champions last year had Keenan Evan not broken his toe.  Likewise, we have taken quite a bit of pride in the fact that Tech played last year’s eventual national champions, Villanova, closer than any other team in the NCAA Tournament.

While those statements may be true, trophies are not awarded and banners are not hung for close calls.   So in that respect, the fact that Tech led Duke for over 20 minutes of Thursday’s game and held the nation’s most explosive offense to just 69 points is nice but feels a bit empty as the Red Raiders once again failed to bring home a potentially program-defining win.

But when looking at the Duke game on a macro level, it is easy to see that the Texas Tech basketball program as a whole benefitted as much from this loss as is conceivably possible.  Though the record books will forever show this game as a defeat on the court, in almost every other way, it was a win.

Facing the marquee program in the game and the team that is expected to be No. 1 next week thanks to Kansas’ loss to Arizona State on Saturday night, Texas Tech proved that it is a basketball program built for sustained success and that last year’s Elite 8 run was no fluke.

After losing six of last season’s top eight scorers including Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech was discounted by most experts and picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll.  But by going toe-to-toe with Duke and their four potential first round NBA Draft picks, the Red Raiders opened some eyes around the nation.

Numerous national media members like Mark Parker of ESPNU Radio  and Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio took notice of the Red Raiders because of they way they pushed Duke to the limit.

In order to join the ranks of the elite, Texas Tech must first begin to compete against the best the game has to offer.  Taking on Duke at Madison Square Garden in New York City was a showcase opportunity.

Tech finally had a national stage against they type of marquee opponent that draws millions of eyeballs and though the Raiders couldn’t pull off the upset, they made the nation take notice of what Chris Beard is building in Lubbock.   In fact, this game was one of the highest-rated ESPN2 college basketball games in history.

And before you attribute that solely to Duke’s popularity, remember that the Devils regularly play on that network but don’t draw those types of numbers.  The fact that Texas Tech is a top-15 program featuring the type of defense that can challenge Duke’s superstars was a huge reason that this game was the talk of the college basketball world.

And the team was not the only aspect of the program that earned tremendous respect in New York.  Though the game was supposed to be a pseudo home game for Duke (which has a tremendous national following and is very popular in the North East), thousands of Red Raiders made the trip and raised so much hell that even impartial observes took notice.

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Long-time ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, who has worked hundreds of college basketball games, was impressed with the passion of those in scarlet and black as at times, the Tech supporters turned MSG into Lubbock east.  Red Raider fans are not typically mentioned with Kansas, Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky fans in regards to their passion and willingness to travel the country to support their team but inside MSG, the most passionate and exuberant fan base was certainly Texas Tech’s.

While the fans absolutely showed out Thursday night, so too did sophomore Jarrett Culver.  With 25 points, the Lubbock native proved to the rest of the nation what fans in the Big 12 already knew, he is one of the best players in the nation.

And after out-dueling Duke’s star guards Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett while also outscoring projected No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, Culver potentially made himself millions of dollars this week.  Thanks to his breakout performance against Duke, many are now touting the Coronado product as a NBA Lottery selection next summer.

After the game, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was effusive in his praise of Tech’s emerging superstar.  Having one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game tout your star player is a huge boost for a program like Texas Tech which is still trying to take the next step on the recruiting trail and land the type of talent that can stack up with the blue-blood programs.

And should Culver head to the NBA in 2019 like Zhaire Smith did this summer,  Tech will have back-to-back first round picks for the first time ever.   That will certainly help Chris Beard sell himself and his program to upcoming recruits in a way the nothing else can.

Next. What we learned from loss to Duke. dark

Ultimately, a win over Duke could have propelled the Red Raiders into the top-10 and possibly even the top-5.  But even in defeat, Tech proved to be a Final Four contender and garnered the type of respect and notoriety that has eluded the program for so long and as a result, the Red Raiders emerged from their NYC trip victorious everywhere but on the scoreboard.

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