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Texas Tech basketball: UK game energy needed on Wednesday vs. Mountaineers

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders students react during the first half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats at United Supermarkets Arena on January 25, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Texas Tech Red Raiders students react during the first half of the college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats at United Supermarkets Arena on January 25, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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After dropping Saturday’s game at home to Kentucky, Wednesday’s home game against West Virginia feels as close to a must-win as possible for the Texas Tech basketball team so we as fans have to bring the same type of energy.

Though we aren’t yet even to February and there still remain 12 conference games, the Texas Tech basketball season feels like it has arrived at a critical juncture.  That’s because Saturday’s overtime loss to Kentucky means that opportunities for true resume-building wins are starting to dwindle.

Therefore, Wednesday’s home game with No. 14 West Virginia feels like it is about as close to a must-win game as there could be without it truly being the definition of the term.  There are a number of reasons why.

First of all, Tech now finds itself in the midst of a two-game slide with the Mountaineers and a road date with Kansas up next on the schedule.  Being as this program has just won one game all-time in Lawrence, if Chris Beard doesn’t see his team take down West Virginia, he will likely be looking at a 4-game losing streak.

Dropping the next two games would likely take Tech out of any shot for a top-three finish in the Big 12 race.  Already with three conference losses, it seems like the Red Raiders aren’t likely going to defend last year’s regular-season title, which they shared with Kansas State.

But, to be honest, winning the Big 12 never seemed likely this year given how revamped and inexperienced this roster is.  We all expected there to be some bumps in the road and that’s what has transpired to this point as Tech is just 12-7.

The good news is that Tech still has a respectable NET ranking of 39 thanks to a strong schedule.  That metric is a huge factor in the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s decision on which teams to extend at-large bids to in March.

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But if Tech is going to truly impress the committee and earn a top-six seed, these higher-caliber games have to start going into the win column.  Thus far, the only victory the Red Raiders can point to as a mark of pride is December’s upset of then No. 1 Louisville in New York City.  The Cardinals sit at No. 10 in the Net Rankings as of Sunday so that win still carries significant weight.

Still, Tech needs more of that type of success.  The problem is that the opportunities are starting to dwindle.

After Wednesday’s game, Tech will have just three more games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 and two of those are on the road (at Baylor and Kansas).  The only one in Lubbock will be when Kansas comes to town in the final game of the regular season.

NCAA Tournament selection now depends heavily on what has become known as “Quadrant 1″ and ‘Quadrant 2” wins.

Quadrant 1 wins are home games vs. teams NET ranked 1-30, neutral games vs. 1-50, and away games vs. 1–75.

A Quadrant 2 win is one at home against the teams in the NET 31–75, neutral-site wins vs. 51–100, and away victories over the teams 76–135.

This year, Tech has only one such win and because of the relatively poor middle tier in the Big 12, there just aren’t as many opportunities this year.  OU at No. 45 in the NET and TCU at No. 61 present possible Quad 1 or 2 wins but there don’t seem to be any other wins that Tech could claim outside of Baylor, Kansas, and WVU that will do wonders for its postseason seeding.

Thus, it would behoove the Red Raiders to avenge this season’s loss to the Mountaineers.  In that game, Bob Huggins’ team was the physically dominant team as they pulled down 13 more rebounds and got to the line 28 more times than Tech.

Of course, in Lubbock, the officiating won’t be as heavily-tilted towards the Mountaineers, who are notorious for getting away with more at home than they do on the road.  What’s more, Tech will have Terrence Shannon Jr. back for that game after he missed the first meeting between the two schools with a back injury.  He leads Tech with 76 free-throw attempts on the year.

This isn’t to suggest that the season is lost should Tech drop another home game on Wednesday.  But it is important to understand what is at stake.

While most don’t feel like the Big 12 race is a priority, a loss to WVU will essentially eliminate Tech from any hope of a title run in the regular season.  More importantly, though, it could be part of a snowball of negativity that might envelop this young team.

At some point, Tech has to come up with significant wins if for no other reason than to reinforce within the locker room that the incredibly high expectations and demands of this coaching staff are justified because they lead to success.  When that success remains just out of reach, it’s only human nature to start to become frustrated or lose heart.

Therefore, we as fans have to realize the magnitude of Wednesday’s game and do all we can to prevent it from turning into a letdown game.  All we can do is show up 15,000 strong and bring the same type of energy we brought on Saturday.

Though it feels a bit tough to think about going through that level of emotional investment again after a gutting loss, imagine how the players and coaches feel.  And if we are going to expect them to go all-in to beat the Mountaineers, shouldn’t we expect the same of ourselves?

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