Texas Tech basketball fans get injury updates ahead of first round of NCAA Tournament

Just one day ahead of the Texas Tech basketball team's first-round matchup against No. 11 seed NC State in the NCAA Tournament, it appears the team's injury situation is improving. How much, though, is yet to be known.

Wednesday, injured center Warren Washington was seen participating in the team's open workout. Though this was not a full-blown practice, it was encouraging to see the Red Raiders' only big man going through basketball activities with no noticeable limp instead of sitting on the sidelines in a walking boot. Still, McCasland has previously said that Washington wouldn't be able to play until he was able to go through a live practice session to simulate game action. Whether or not he's cleared that bar yet is unknown to anyone outside of the program.

Washington injured his foot against Kansas back on February 12. Since then, he's tried to play in only one game, the February 24 game at UCF. That day, he started but played only 13 minutes. He didn't score and grabbed only two rebounds.

For the year, he's averaging 9.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. What's more, as Tech's only player over 6-foot-8, he is central to what the team hopes to do on the court.

Though fans are encouraged to see Washington participate in the team's shoot-around, head coach Grant McCasland did not say whether or not the super-senior will be able to play on Thursday night. As has been the case for several weeks, Washington remains a game-time decision.

As for Darrion Williams, he spoke to the media and said that he intends to play after turning his ankle last Thursday against BYU. That injury caused him to miss Friday's game against Houston as a precautionary measure.

Williams averages 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Prior to the BYU contest in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, he had scored in double figures in ten consecutive games and was playing as well as anyone on the team.

The Red Raiders will need all hands on deck against a big, physical NC State team. Hopefully, what we saw on Wednesday at the shoot-around was a positive sign and both will not only play on Thursday night but both will be able to be effective enough to help the team win.