Texas Tech basketball: Loss to OSU wasn’t as damaging as many believe
The loss gave this team a reality check
College athletics is so unpredictable because of the nature of the athletes themselves. We often forget that these young adults are still stuck in the mental and emotional Purgatory between being a child and an adult.
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That’s why college teams are often prone to strange performances. That’s what we saw in Stillwater with Tech.
After three-straight wins, Tech has started to become a team people around the nation were talking about. In fact, over the previous three weeks, many had been commenting on how Beard’s team was starting to look like last year’s Red Raider team.
One-possessions losses to Kentucky and Kansas, an impressive win against West Virginia, a thrilling comeback against Texas, a dismantling of TCU on national television all had people drinking the Texas Tech Kool-Aid. Maybe the players themselves had a sip.
It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened in Lubbock. After all, this is the school where “fat little girlfriends” have been causing problems since 2009.
Only the men inside the Texas Tech locker room know if that’s why Tech lost in Stillwater. But what we all know is that Chris Beard is a master when it comes to using a loss like that to teach and motivate his team.
We have to look no further than to last year’s debacle in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Seeded No. 2 in the event and taking on the lowest seed in Kansas City, No. 10 West Virginia, Tech laid a huge egg against a team that, much like OSU is right now, was playing far better basketball than its record might indicate.
Following that 79-74 loss, one in which Tech was dominated on the glass and at the free-throw line (sound familiar?), Beard had his players tape the box score of that game to the back of their cell phones as a reminder of the lessons learned.
Next. The Texas Tech all-decade small forwards. dark
The players talked about that frequently during last year’s run to the National Title Game. That proved to be a turning point in the season and this year’s loss in Stillwater could be the same type of motivational moment. If there is anything we know for certain, it is that Beard will use every bit of what happened on Saturday to improve his team so that we don’t see a repeat performance. Perhaps it will be this year’s springboard to another fantastic March.