Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders secure win at Kansas State

Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas, the Texas Tech basketball team picked up a 73-62 win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

Facing a team that was desperate to avoid a 10-game losing streak and one that was also coming off of a humiliating loss to their hated in-state rival, the Texas Tech basketball team put forth a workmanlike effort on Saturday and held off a scrappy Kansas State team 73-62. The win moved the Red Raiders to 14-5 overall and 6-4 in Big 12 play and gave them an important jolt of momentum as they head into a week that will see them face a pair of ranked teams in West Virginia and Baylor.

Tech led for virtually the entire game on Saturday but to say that the win was an easy one would be wrong. KSU came out and played as hard as they could, especially on the defensive end of the court where they did their best to try to make life tough on the Red Raiders.

But regardless of the KSU fight, Tech still had one of its most efficient offensive games in conference play. Shooting 47.1% overall from the floor, Tech was 10-20 from 3-point range, an important factor in helping keep the Wildcats at bay. And when KSU mounted its best rally of the second half, it was junior Kyler Edwards who helped stem the tide.

After seeing what had once been a 12-point second-half lead cut in half with just under nine minutes left to play, Edwards drained a key 3-pointer to push the advantage back to nine points, and then, following a KSU bucket, he would hit a two-pointer to help the Red Raiders keep the home team at arm’s length.

It was a nice afternoon for Edwards, who had 13 points on 4-6 shooting to have his first double-digit game since he scored 19 against Iowa State on January 9th. And Tech needed that extra offense given that its second-leading scorer was far from full strength.

Playing only sparingly and not appearing in the contest until the middle of the second half, sophomore Terrence Shannon Jr. was a relative non-factor due to an unspecified leg injury. He would end the day with just two points, over 11 below his season average.

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But while Tech didn’t get a normal effort from its top NBA prospect, leading scorer Mac McClung returned to his typical form to help carry the load. Coming off of a game that saw him fail to hit a shot from the field against OU on Monday, the Georgetown transfer poured in 23 points to lead all scorers. It was the eighth 20-point game of the season for the electric guard who appeared physically worn out against the Sooners as he managed only six points in that Red Raider victory.

Defensively, Tech forced 18 turnovers on the day which was important being as KSU shot 47.1% from the floor. Tech also blocked five shots overall, three by redshirt freshman Tyreek Smith.

Smith, who also had five points, was just one of a handful of role players who provided some added contributions. It was arguably his best Big 12 game of the season and he helped his team combat the KSU duo of big men Davion Bradford and Kaosi Ezeagu, who stand 7-feet and 6-feet-10 respectively.

This was a win that Tech was supposed to pick up given that Chris Beard’s team entered the game as double-digit favorites. But it also had the potential to be the classic trap game given that KSU was playing with wounded pride and given that the game fell between games against No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 17 West Virginia.

But in a performance typical of what we’ve come to expect from a Beard squad, the Red Raiders proved to be mentally and physically tough enough to overcome the challenge of facing a desperate team on its home court. Now, our attention turns to what could be a season-defining week of basketball.