Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders struggle but still down San Jose St.

Texas Tech got little from the bench as the rotation tightens

It was telling to see the Red Raiders in a tight contest early in the season because it gave us an idea of who is really in Grant McCasland’s rotation.  Sunday, he asked only nine players to give him minutes with only seven of those players seeing the floor for more than 5 minutes.

Lamar Washington and Chance McMillan were the only Red Raider reserves other than Yalaho and Jennings to see the floor.  Washington was able to give Tech only four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes while McMillan put up a mere two points in 26 minutes.  However, he did manage to pull down six rebounds.

Players such as Kerwin Walton, D’Maurion Williams, and Kye’Ron Lindsay seem to be afterthoughts right now.  In fact, Williams has played only four minutes this year and Lindsay has yet to play in either game.

If Jennings or Yalaho don’t manage to give this team anything of substance, might this team go with a seven-man rotation this year?  That would be a tough way to navigate the season, especially in the brutal Big 12.

It will be interesting to see how McCasland navigates this issue and uses his bench moving forward, especially next week when the Red Raiders are in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, a tournament that will see Tech play three games in three days against top-flight competition.

If someone from the Red Raider bench doesn’t find a way to be a positive contributor soon, it will put McCasland in a tough spot.  That’s especially true of Jennings or anyone else who can provide some minutes in the paint.  So keep an eye on how Tech manages to navigate this emerging situation with the bench rotation.