Texas Tech basketball: How Tech can get the most out of March

Get Kevin Obanor going on a consistent basis

Last March, while playing for Oral Roberts, Kevin Obanor became a star by averaging 23.3 points in three NCAA Tournament games.  That included a 30-point showing against No. 2 seed Ohio State and a 28-point showing against No. 7 seed Florida.

Can the senior put together a similar run this March?  If so, Tech will be tough to beat.

The problem is that Obanor has been an inconsistent scorer this year.  Prior to his 16-point game against Oklahoma State on Saturday, he had gone four games without scoring in double figures.  And prior to his 23-point game against Baylor in Lubbock on February 16, he had a three-game run in which he scored a total of just 10 points. But prior to that, Obanor had a strong stretch of five outings in which he averaged 16 points.

So which Kevin Obanor is Tech going to get this March?  The answer to that question could very well tell the Red Raiders’ story.

This is a team that often struggles to score.  That was never more evident than in the final ten minutes against Oklahoma State on Saturday.  And during that game’s fateful closing stretch, when Tech desperately needed a bucket, Obanor was nowhere to be seen.  In fact, he had just three points in the second half.

We can be fairly confident that Bryson Williams is going to give Tech a consistent scoring punch in the post.  After all, he scored in double-digits in all but one Big 12 game this year.  But this team needs someone to step up and be a 3-point threat and Obanor might be the best hope in that regard.

Last March, he shot 43.7% from deep in the NCAA Tournament while making ten total shots from beyond the arc.  A similar performance this season would do wonders for the Red Raiders.  Hopefully, Saturday’s strong showing in the month’s first game was a sign that Obanor is heating up because he could very well be this team’s x-factor in the postseason.