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Texas Tech basketball: There’s no need to panic after 3-straight losses

By Matthew Conner

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 04: Clarence Nadolny #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots a lay up in the first half against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on December 04, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 04: Clarence Nadolny #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots a lay up in the first half against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on December 04, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Last year’s team didn’t click until February

Fans often don’t want to hear this when our team is struggling but the basketball season is a marathon, not a sprint.  That’s much different than the 12-game football season where every game is worth so much more.  Thus the reason why we see college basketball teams take on so many more tough opponents than their football counterparts do.

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The goal is not to be playing your best basketball now but in March.  That was the case for the 2018-19 Red Raiders as they finished the year locked in.

Think back to what we were saying in January’s 3-game losing streak.  We thought that this team couldn’t score enough to win, didn’t play as hard as the previous year’s team did, and lacked the leadership to right the ship.  Sound familiar?

What’s more, we were so frustrated during that run that we were all clamoring for freshman Khavon Moore to be the potential savior after missing all of the season while rehabbing a broken leg.  The fact that he’s currently averaging 3.4 points per game for Clemson is proof that he was not going to rescue that team or any other from any slump.

The same can’t be said of Ramsey.  By the time February comes around, there’s reason to believe that this team won’t look anything like what it does now, especially with a full complement of players.

It’s also worth noting that teams that peak in December often don’t cut down any nets in March.  We are in the fifth week of the season.  The No. 1 team in week 5 last year was Gonzaga, which lost to Tech in the Elite 8.  Tech was just 13th in the polls in week 5.

Two years ago at this juncture, Duke was No. 1.  That season, the Blue Devils got just as far as Tech, the Elite 8.  By the way, by week 5 of 2017, the Red Raiders were the first team of those receiving votes but not in the poll.

Next. Tech falls in OT at DePaul. dark

This is all an important reminder that this season will have plenty of twists and turns.  We’ve already seen the No. 1 team lose four times.  The goal is not to be on top before Christmas even arrives but to be the last one standing in April, which is a long time from now.

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