Though the Texas Tech basketball team was able to defeat UNC Wilmington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament without its best guard, Chance McMillian, there is no question that the Red Raiders are a different team when he is on the floor. That's why Red Raider fans are desperate for an update on his status for Saturday's second-round matchup with No.11 seed Drake.
Friday, head coach Grant McCasland gave an update on McMillian. However, what he said certainly didn't give anyone a reason to believe his star guard will play in round two.
"Yeah, there's nobody that wants to play more than Chance," McCasland said. "And I can't understate - I can't emphasize that enough. He really wants to play. So we wake up with an optimism that we can somehow get him on the court...This injury, I do think in regards to impacting his ability to play the game and play it with a lot of confidence is one thing, but even to just get him out there.
"We're still trying every day to put him in the best position and we're hopeful we can get him on the court, but it's honestly so hard to say until we get out there and get him out there and see if he can go."
Without McMillian, the Red Raiders are still a dangerous team. Thursday night, Tech drained 13 3-point shots against UNC Wilmington.
However, the player that took McMillian's spot in the starting lineup, freshman Christian Anderson, struggled. He was just 2-9 from the floor for seven points. Though Anderson did make two critical buckets late in the game, he was not as good as a healthy McMillian likely would have been.
Remember, McMillian has two NCAA Tournament appearances under his belt. Meanwhile, Anderson is making his first swim through the Big Dance. Therefore, subbing Anderson for McMillian is not an ideal swap.
Unfortunately, McCasland's remarks don't sound promising as it pertains to McMillian playing on Saturday night against Drake. Hopefully, we will be surprised and he can give it a go but for now, that seems like a long shot.