Texas Tech basketball: Kevin Obanor shoots Red Raiders past No. 7 Baylor

Coming into Wednesday night’s showdown with No. 7 Baylor in Lubbock, senior Red Raider forward Kevin Obanor had been quiet since his 17-point outburst against Texas on February 1st having scored only ten total points in his last three games.  But it appears that the transfer from Oral Roberts has a knack for coming up big when the competition ramps up as he had a game-high 23 points as well as 13 huge rebounds for the Texas Tech basketball team in an 83-73 victory.

With 21 of his points coming after the intermission, Obanor helped the Red Raiders erase a seven-point halftime deficit and outscore the Bears 51-34 in the second half.  And when Obanor is as hot as he was on Wednesday, the Red Raiders are going to be nearly unbeatable.

After having missed nine consecutive three-pointers since last making one against the Longhorns over two weeks ago, Obanor connected on four of seven shots from beyond the arc with all four of his makes coming during Tech’s dominant second frame.  That’s what senior leaders have to do when their team is playing shorthanded as Tech was on Wednesday as starting guard Kevin McCullar Jr. missed the game due to a high ankle sprain.

Moving to 20-6 on the season and 9-4 in Big 12 play, the Red Raiders now sit equal with Baylor at No. 2 in the conference race.  But of course, Tech holds the tiebreakers over the Bears by way of sweeping the regular-season series.

Bryson Williams was, as per usual, a force to be reckoned with in the post with 17 points and four boards as he has scored in double figures in all but one Big 12 game this season.  Meanwhile, Adonis Arms contributed 15 points, and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 14 in what was once again a balanced scoring effort from Texas Tech.

It was the second-straight game in which Tech has been less than stellar in the first half only to explode after the break.  On Saturday, against TCU, the Red Raiders staggered their way to a 40-37 deficit only to outscore the Frogs 45-29 in the second half on the way to a 13-point win.

The win was a huge step in helping the Red Raiders accomplish their goal of playing the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in Fort Worth, one of the regional sites for this year’s Big Dance.  With Tech, Kansas, Baylor, Texas, and Houston all in the top 20 of the national polls this week, the competition among area teams to be sent to Cowtown is heating up and by securing a regular-season sweep over the Bears, Tech now has the inside track on that privilege.

Tech now turns its attention to round two against Chris Beard and the Texas Longhorns in Austin in what will be another mile marker game in the Big 12.  Hopefully, Kevin Obanor stays hot because when he is on his game the way he was on Wednesday night against Baylor, he takes this Red Raider team to another level.