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Texas Tech basketball: The good, bad, and ugly from victory over Northwestern State

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 25: Forward Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates during the second half of the college basketball game against the Northwestern State Demons at United Supermarkets Arena on November 25, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 25: Forward Marcus Santos-Silva #14 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates during the second half of the college basketball game against the Northwestern State Demons at United Supermarkets Arena on November 25, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Nov 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general overview of the United Supermarkets Arena during a game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Northwestern State Demons. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general overview of the United Supermarkets Arena during a game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Northwestern State Demons. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas Tech basketball team defeated Northwestern State 101-58 on Wednesday night so let’s look at the good, bad, and ugly from that performance.

It was another successful season opener for Chris Beard and his Texas Tech basketball program on Wednesday night.  With the 101-58 blowout win, the Red Raiders now have an average margin of victory of 33.8 points in their five season openers in the Chris Beard era.

While the level of competition in those games hasn’t been at the highest level of the game, that success is indicative of a program that comes out of the gate prepared and ready to start strong.

"“That’s absolutely what I expect,” Beard said after the game.  “I expect these guys to play Texas Tech basketball. I expect them to defend with purpose and pride. I expect them to trust their teammates on offense and play unselfish. I expect us to take a couple lumps along the way, because we are kind of an unexperienced young team in some ways, but it’s a long journey. But I do expect that. I expect these guys to put themselves in a position to win every game on the schedule and tonight we got that done.”"

We shouldn’t take this impressive performance from the Red Raiders for granted.  That’s because several Big 12 teams were rather unimpressive in their season debuts.

For example, Kansas State lost at home 80-70 to Drake in their season opener.  That’s an ominous sign for the team picked to finish last in the Big 12 preseason poll.

Meanwhile, West Virginia struggled to get a win in their opener.  In their 79-71 victory over South Dakota State, the Mountaineers saw what was once a double-digit lead cut to just four points in the final two minutes.

Then there was Oklahoma State, which boasts the nation’s top 2020 recruit, Cade Cunningham.  But even with their shiny new toy contributing 21 points and 10 rebounds, the Cowboys were in a dog fight with UTSA (which is coached by former Texas Tech assists Chris Ogden) until the final minute of the game in a 75-68 win.

Thus, even though the Red Raiders’ first game of the year came against a lesser opponent than other teams will begin the year against, we shouldn’t overlook what Beard’s team managed to accomplish.  That’s especially true given that Wednesday’s contest was the debut of eight players on the roster and that there were no preseason scrimmages or exhibitions against other teams.

So let’s go inside the Texas Tech basketball team’s win by looking at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Wednesday night’s game.  And we will begin by appreciating the selflessness of the Red Raiders.

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