Texas Tech basketball: The most important games remaining on the schedule

No. 2: vs. West Virginia

Under Chris Beard, the Texas Tech basketball program hasn’t been all that concerned with avenging losses for the sake of retribution.  Rather, beating a team that has already scored a win over the Red Raiders is seen more as a sign of progress and improvement.

But we have to assume that West Virginia will get the Red Raiders’ best shot when they come to Lubbock on Tuesday night.  That’s because the last time Tech and the Mountaineers were on the court together, Beard’s team let a 12-point second-half lead slip away in an 88-87 defeat.

That game was humbling for Tech as WVU scored more points than any other Texas Tech basketball opponent has this year.  And, of course, they also ended the game making their final ten field goal opportunities.

For a team that considers itself a defense-first squad, that had to be a tough loss to endure.  And since then, Tech has given up an average of just 61.5 points per game.

Sitting at No. 17 currently, the Mountaineers will likely enter this game ranked but they could be hungry when they arrive as they will have a tough test against Kansas (in Morgantown) on Saturday.  Should they drop that game to the Jayhawks, they would come to Lubbock having lost two of their three previous games and that won’t sit well with Bob Huggins.

But Tech’s come from ahead loss to the Mountaineers last week didn’t sit well with Beard and his squad either.  And to prove to themselves and the rest of the NCAA that they are still an elite defensive team, the Red Raiders need to play a better game against West Virginia and shut the Mountaineer guards down when WVU comes to the U.S.A.  This game will also come on the heels of Tech’s trip to Waco meaning that it will either be a chance to rebound for a loss by picking up an important win or it will be a chance to continue to ride what could be a tidal wave of momentum.