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Texas Tech Basketball: Saturday’s game at Baylor postponed

By Matthew Conner

Jan 16, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Mac McClung (0) drives the ball against Baylor Bears guard Adam Flagler (10) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Mac McClung (0) drives the ball against Baylor Bears guard Adam Flagler (10) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Monday, it was announced that the Texas Tech basketball team’s game at Baylor, scheduled for this Saturday, has been postponed.

The Big 12 has announced that the No. 2 Baylor Bears are postponing their next three games due to a COVID-19 outbreak which has already caused the postponement of two other contests. That means that the Texas Tech basketball team won’t be traveling to Waco on Saturday as scheduled.

It’s a disappointing development as this matchup was set to be a top-10 showdown now that Tech has risen to No. 7 in the lastest A.P. poll.  But in another sense, this postponement could work to the benefit of the Red Raiders.

That’s because of the fact that Saturday’s game was supposed to kick off a stretch of five games in nine days for the Red Raiders.  That would have included back-to-back games with TCU in a three-day span and back-to-back road games at Kansas and No. 23 Oklahoma State.

https://twitter.com/Big12Conference/status/1358830200159543299?s=20

Now, that stretch becomes more manageable with four games currently scheduled between February 15 and February 22.  But the larger question to be asked is whether the Big 12 will have time to reschedule prior to the postseason all of the missed games that have plagued the conference.

The league did factor in the likelihood that postponements would occur when putting together this season’s schedule.  Thus, the regular season is set to end on February 27, nine days prior to the start of the Big 12 Tournament.  During that break, it is assumed that an attempt will be made to make up as many games as possible.  But given the number of interruptions the league has sustained, it seems unlikely that every missed game will be played.

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Perhaps the league could move to a bubble situation, likely in Kansas City where the conference tournament is set to be held, allowing teams to play games on consecutive games if necessary.  That would take travel out of the equation and would give the league the best chance at completing the regular season schedule but no word on any such plans has come from the league office.

This postponement is the fourth to impact the Texas Tech basketball team, including three Big 12 games.  Early in the season, Tech’s game with St. John’s as part of the Big 12/Big East Challenge was canceled.  Then, in January, the Red Raiders had games with TCU and Iowa State postponed, the latter of which has still not been set for a new date.

It is interesting that none of these interruptions have come as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Red Raider program.  That’s a testament to Tech’s work in keeping its athletes and staff safe but also a bit of luck in timing as the program did struggle with an outbreak of the virus prior to the start of the season.

For now, the Red Raiders’ are still set to take on No. 14 West Virginia tomorrow night in Lubbock, a game that will carry significant NCAA Tournament weight as both teams seem to be in the same seeding conversation at this point in the season.  But those hoping to see Tech stun the college basketball world and take down unbeaten Baylor will have to wait a while to see that potentially happen.  How long will they wait?  We don’t know at this point.

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