When Texas Tech and Baylor meet in any sport, the stakes are usually raised given the history between the two in-state universities. That's especially true now when the teams battle it out on the hardwood given the connection between Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland and Baylor head coach Scott Drew.
Not only did McCasland play basketball at Baylor from 1995-99 but he also coached there under Drew from 2011-16. Thus, the two coaches have a ton of respect for one another.
Tuesday night, that respect was easy to see when Drew met with the media following his team's 73-59 loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock. When speaking with the media, Drew heaped a ton of praise on McCasland and his team.
"So the other thing I will say is, coach McCasland's got a heck of a team," he said. "I'm not trying to put any pressure on him or anything, but I mean they're good enough to, there's probably four teams in the big 12, maybe five, that could go to a Final Four if they got hot. And Texas Tech might be the best right now...in the big 12. So he's really done a great job. He's a really good coach. You guys are lucky to have him."
Another Red Raider that impressed Drew was forward Darrion Williams. The junior had 17 points and eight rebounds in the game and Drew was particularly impressed with Williams' work on the offensive glass.
"D. Williams was a monster on the glass," Drew said. "I mean, seven offensive rebounds, he deserves a lot of credit. That's hard to do in the Big 12, especially when you know going in you're trying to block him out."
Next, Drew fielded a question about the length of Texas Tech's forward duo of JT Toppin and Federiko Federiko. He admitted that both players impact the game, especially on defense.
"I think [Baylor guard] Rob [Wright] can attest their length is bothersome," he said, "alters a lot of shots, stops you from shooting some, makes you miss some, then they get blocked shots. But both of them are athletic, both of them play hard, compliment each other well, and Grant does a great job utilizing them."
Finally, Drew wrapped up his postgame remarks by paying another compliment to McCasland. He noted how much better Texas Tech is in McCasland's second year in charge of the program.
"He's always been a really good coach," he said. "But like most of us, is you get guys for a couple of years with you, you're better. They know what you want. You know what they can do. You put them in better positions to be successful. And I mean to, like, all of us we add a lot of pieces, but I mean, Chance [McMillian] is a returner. You know, is exactly what Chance is going to do what he can do when he can do it. And that is beneficial."
In his head coaching career, Drew has gone 481-263 (.647) and he's taken 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament. He's reached at least the Sweet 16 on eight occasions and in 2021, he led Baylor to the National Championship.
Though Texas Tech fans don't want to give anyone at Baylor their due, there is no denying that Drew has done a remarkable job in Waco and he's become one of the best coaches in the game. That's why people should listen when he says that Texas Tech might be the best team in the conference.