Texas Tech basketball: The defining moments of the 2019-20 season
Jahmi’us Ramsey‘s hamstring injury
The season’s first test came six games into the schedule on Thanksgiving night. Unfortunately, it was also when the season took it’s first unexpected and unpleasant turn.
With just over 10 minutes left in the 72-61 loss to Iowa at the Las Vegas Invitational, Ramsey came up limping after an awkward drive to the bucket that saw him hit the deck. A hamstring strain would sideline him for the rest of that contest as well as the next four.
At the time, the freshman was averaging 19.4 points per game to lead all Big 12 players. But being as the game with the Hawkeyes was the first time he had faced a high-major team, we all eagerly anticipated the opportunity to see him perform against better competition.
Prior to his injury, he struggled against the Hawkeyes. Going just 3-11 from the field and 1-5 from 3-point range, he had managed just 7 points. But eventually, Tech was able to cut what had been a double-digit deficit for most of that night to just two points at the 1:59 mark of the second half
Ultimately, the Hawkeyes would close the game on a 10-2 run and give Tech its first loss. But what was a more significant loss was Ramsey.
Without their leading scorer available, Tech would then drop the next night’s game against Creighton and the game five days later against DePaul in Chicago. Being as both of those games went to overtime, one has to imagine that at least one would have gone differently had Ramsey been on the court.
Imagine how different this season would have looked had Tech taken down Creighton that next night. The Blue Jays were one of the surprise teams in the nation this year finishing at No. 7 in the final poll.
Although Tech would manage to go 2-2 in the four games that Ramsey missed completely (including a win against No. 1 Louisville), his absence was a huge component of the early-season three-game losing streak. It’s fair to wonder how different the season would have felt if he would have been able to play in the first two of those games and whether Tech would have been able to pick up two more tier-one wins in a season where those were in short supply for Chris Beard’s team.