Texas Tech basketball: Chris Beard speaks about West Virginia rematch

Ahead of the Texas Tech basketball team’s rematch with West Virginia on Wednesday, Chris Beard spoke to the media about the Mountaineers and what his team has to do to pick up the win.

After dropping a heart-breaking game to Kentucky on Saturday night, the Texas Tech basketball team will try to avoid a three-game losing streak by beating No. 12 West Virginia Wednesday night in Lubbock. It’s a huge game for the Red Raiders and head coach Chris Beard knows that a home atmosphere near the level of what his team had behind it on Saturday could be a monument boost.

"“So appreciative of the crowds this year,” Beard said. “Attendance at an all-time high and I think it’s really helped our team and looking forward to the next Big 12 game. A top 10, nationally-ranked team coming in here and we hope to have another great environment. Appreciative of our students. Appreciative of our season ticket holders and everybody in Lubbock that’s supported this team and we hope to have another great, great environment tomorrow night.”"

What might be a concern is whether or not the home fan base has enough stomach to go through the same type of war against the Mountaineers that it just experienced against Kentucky. Having been on hand for the OT loss to the Wildcats, I can attest to the fact that Saturday’s game took an emotional toll because just about everyone in the arena that night felt as if we had also played in the game given how much energy we poured into that game.

But as we discussed on Sunday, we have to bring that same intensity when WVU comes to town. In fact, this game is far more important from a Big 12 and season-long perspective. Tech needs to start climbing the conference standings as well as begin to strengthen its potential NCAA Tournament resume.

Beating West Virginia would do wonders for the psyche of this year’s team as well as move Tech off the NCAA Tournament bubble. Plus, with Saturday bringing a trip to Lawrence, this game could be what prevents Tech from suffering a four-game losing streak, the longest of the Beard era. Thus, the magnitude should not be lost on Red Raider fans.

Speaking of the fans, 7-foot freshman Russell Tchewa is quickly becoming a fan-favorite. And after his strong play in five minutes against Kentucky, Beard was asked what he needed to see from Tchewa in order for the big man to earn more opportunities.

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"“Russ just has to continue to get better,” he said. “It’s like a coaching cliche but it’s so true. Each day in his individual workouts, he needs to push himself. Each day in practice, he needs to embrace each possession. Continue to get in the weight room…just consistency.“You know, it’s a fine line when you’re trying to do everything you can to improve as a player and develop your game but then ‘How can I help the team tonight in this one possession?’ I thought the last game, Russ made some great contributions and like I’ve said consistently, ever since our first press conference, all these guys remain in play. You know, our plan tomorrow night is to use everyone on our roster. That’s been our plan every game this year, so, I think Russ is a work in progress and he just has to stay committed to trying to get better each day.”"

Many believe that Tchewa will be needed again on Wednesday given the fact that WVU starts two dominant big men. In the first meeting between these teams, sophomore Dereck Culver and freshman Oscar Tshiebwe combined for only 16 points but they pulled down 24 rebounds, 17 by the freshman.

"“Certainly, with their interior players, they present a real challenge with two of the better big guys in all of college basketball, two NBA players in my opinion,” Beard said. “You know, we did a lot of good things in game one [against West Virginia], we gave ourself a chance that night…We didn’t play well enough to turn it into a one or two-possession game but we were right there for the majority of the game so we’ll have to build upon some of those things and then certainly try to play better in different areas.”"

One area where Tech must be better is in regards to the free-throw line. In Morgantown, the Red Raiders shot just seven free throws, making six. That was one reason the Mountaineers were able to hold a 17-point edge at the line. Beard addressed that issue as well.

"“Victory is going to favor the more aggressive team,” he said. “You know, it’s really hard to get on the free-throw line in somebody else’s gym in the Big 12. That’s a whole ‘nother debate and I have no idea for that. But the bottom line is we have to control what we can control and that’s to be aggressive. At West Virginia, we fell in love with the jump shot and we just got to find that balance…”"

The good news is that the Red Raiders won’t have to worry about the Morgantown vibe impacting the way this game is called. It is widely known across the Big 12 that Huggins’ demeanor and the fervor of the WVU faithful have long combined to heavily influence the way referees call the game.

Hopefully, the Red Raider fans can return the favor by creating a hostile atmosphere for the Mountaineers on Wednesday. That might be exactly what this team needs to finally get over the hump and earn just its second quadrant-one win this year.

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