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

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - DECEMBER 06: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1, Mac McClung #0, Marcus Santos-Silva #14, Kyler Edwards #11, and Jamarius Burton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders walk onto the court after a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - DECEMBER 06: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1, Mac McClung #0, Marcus Santos-Silva #14, Kyler Edwards #11, and Jamarius Burton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders walk onto the court after a timeout during the first half of the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 06: Guard Nimari Burnett #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders dunks the ball during the second half the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 06: Guard Nimari Burnett #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders dunks the ball during the second half the college basketball game against the Grambling State Tigers at United Supermarkets Arena on December 06, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Edwards and Burnett

On a day when the team’s leading scorer, Mac McClung, struggled from the field going just 2-7, two other guards took their games to a new level to help their team secure the win.

Leading the way was Kyler Edwards.  The junior led the team in scoring with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half as the Red Raider offense struggled.

While Edwards was 2-5 from 3-point range on the day, it was three points that he scored at the free-throw line that may have been his most important.  With his team ahead just 19-14 after Grambling put together a 6-0 run, Edwards stepped to the line to make three free-throws after being found on a long-range jumper.  Those three makes ended Grambling’s only real run of the day and set Tech up for a strong finish to the half.

Since he was 0-3 at the line against Houston (in a game in which Tech was just 13-24 as a team), Edwards has gone 5-5 proving that what happened against the Cougars was likely just a blip on the radar.

But aside from just his scoring, Edwards also controlled the game in two other ways.  First of all, he grabbed 11 rebounds (a career-high) and he also dished out five assists as he played one of his best all-around games as a Red Raider.

The other guard who had a nice afternoon was true freshman Nimari Burnett.  Looking more comfortable than ever before as a Red Raider, he scored 12 points and collected three rebounds.  Playing more aggressively with the ball, he got to the free-throw line seven times where he didn’t miss a single attempt.

Also, Burnett came up with six steals as he continues to prove that he is more than capable of being a lock-down defender.  This was the type of showing that Red Raider fans have been waiting to see from the 2020 McDonald’s All-American all year but which he had yet to been able to put together.

Hopefully, this was a sign that the game is beginning to slow down for Burnett.  What’s more, we have to hope that Edwards is rediscovering his assertiveness.  In the last two games, he’s averaged 13.5 points and he’s started to help McClung shoulder some of the scoring load in the backcourt.  That’s going to be something he has to continue to do throughout the season for this team to compete for a Big 12 title.

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