Texas Tech basketball: Surprises from the Red Raiders season-opener

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Though the outcome of the Texas Tech basketball team’s season opener was no surprise, there were a few unexpected developments to come out of the U.S.A. on Tuesday night.

The intrigue Tuesday night at United Supermarkets Arena was never going to be the outcome of the game unless something went terribly awry.  Despite what Chris Beard told his team and the media, Eastern Illinois was never going to be the type of opponent that should give the No. 13 Red Raiders a scare.

Rather, the reason 15,098 fans packed the house for the season-opener was curiosity.  We wanted to see what kind of team Beard has put together after having six members of last season’s eight-man rotation depart the program.

We wanted to see if Jahmi’us Ramsey was as talented as he was billed to be as a top 35 recruit in the nation last year.  With a game-high 19 points, he certainly looked the part.

We also wanted to find out just what we have in top-100 2019 signee Terrence Shannon Jr.  Already built like an upperclassman, the freshman from Chicago was a catalyst for his team bringing energy and intensity to both ends of the floor from the jump.  He finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and an assist and showed why people like ESPN’s Seth Greenberg have been touting him as a potential breakout star this season.

We were curious to find out if 7-foot freshman Russell Tchewa would be agile enough to play critical minutes this year.  The 3-star signee is raw, especially on offense, but he managed six points on 3-4 shooting.  If he can perfect the right-handed baby hook, he could become an unstoppable force down low before his time in Lubbock is over.

We wanted to find out if the two grad transfers, Chris Clarke and T.J. Holyfield, are going to be as natural of fits as Matt Mooney and Tariq Owens were with last season’s team.  Tuesday, it looked for sure that Holyfield will be a key in the post for the Red Raiders.

Starting the game and bringing 15 points and six rebounds to his team, the 6-foot-8 senior showed no ill effects from the shoulder injury that caused him to miss all of last season at Stephen F. Austin.  On the other hand, Clarke was much less of a factor with just two points off the bench but he did lead the team with eight assists in19 minutes of action. (Though there are some who claim he had only three assists.  A new stat system was implemented last night leading to a discrepancy in this area.  For now, we will stick with the ESPN box score.)

Finally, we wanted to see whether Beard would be attending a wedding this summer (other than his own).  In August, Tech student Rylee Albracht tweeted at Beard asking him what it would take for him to officiate her wedding.  He replied and said that if the student section of 4,500 was 100% full for the season-opener, he would be there and would have Whataburger for everyone at the wedding.

An hour before tip, the student line was still down the outside stairs of the arena and half-way down the block when I pulled up to park and it was obvious that Beard would be dusting off his wedding tux.  Not only was the student section packed, but it was also as raucous as ever.  Whether they were doing the “Swag Surf” or going bonkers over the halftime performance of Red Panda, the students brought their best to the arena on Tuesday making it feel like OU or Kansas State was in town rather than Eastern Illinois.

Though the night played out just as we expected and hoped, it was no less special to be part of.  Part celebration of what this program has accomplished in the last three years and part 3-ringed circus to start off the new season with as much buzz as possible, it was a season-opener the likes of which we have not seen in West Texas.

Still, once the game was underway, there were some unexpected developments.  So let’s take a look at the most surprising aspects of the Red Raiders’ 85-60 win over Eastern Illinois.