Texas Tech basketball: An optimistic look at the loss to Baylor

Tech lost to the No. 4 team by four points despite playing poorly in numerous aspects of the game

Those who have spent time on this site during the last few football seasons may have picked up on the fact that I despise the idea of the moral victory.  After all, those close calls as still registered as losses in the standings.

But while I don’t consider this game to be a moral victory and I’m still not happy with having to see Tech lose to Baylor in person, I can’t help but think about the fact that Beard’s team played as poorly as we’ve seen in a number of areas and yet, the final margin was just five points.

Despite losing the rebounding battle by 19, giving up 17 offensive rebounds, shooting 5-12 from the free-throw line, and getting just 17 points combined from three starters (Davide Moretti, T.J. Holyfield, and Terrence Shannon).  Tech was within two points with 30 seconds to play when Chris Clarke hit a free throw to complete an old fashioned 3-point play.

Let’s take it a step further.  How many teams could shoot just 30.7% from 3-point range and 37% from the floor overall against the No. 4 team in the country and be in the game until the bitter end?  Additionally, how many teams will be able to push the No. 4 team to the limit when being outscored 14-5 in bench scoring?

The reality is that Tech played a truly miserable game on Tuesday and still had opportunities to win.  Now, some of that poor performance has to be attributed to what Drew’s team did but the wide-open 3-point misses and the bricked free throws were simply products of a poor shooting night from the collective roster.

Most teams in the nation would lose by 20 points or more when playing as poorly as Tech did against Baylor.  Thus, the fact that it turned out to be just a 5-point loss shows how tough this Red Raider team is.