Texas Tech basketball: What has to happen for the Red Raiders to win in Austin

The Texas Tech bench has to be productive

Finally, Texas Tech needs its bench to be productive for this game to go the way of the good guys. That means players other than just Chance McMillan will have to make their presence known.

As for McMillan, he is the team's best bench piece and he needs to do his part. Averaging 9.3 points per game, it is imperative that he provides some scoring as a reserve.

Remember, when Tech played its only other road game of the season, McMillan scored 24 points, all coming on eight made 3-pointers, to keep the Red Raiders in the game. Could he come close to repeating that performance in Austin? Let's hope so.

Meanwhile, Lamar Washington could provide a boost. He is a good defender and his ability to stay in front of opposing guards would be useful tonight. However, he will also have to prove that he's not a liability on offense, which is where he's struggled for much of this season.

Robert Jennings might also be asked to play a bigger role than usual with Texas' size advantage. Thus far, he's only averaging 8.3 minutes per game but if Washington were to get into foul trouble, Tech may have to ask for more from Jennings, a sophomore who only played sparingly in Big 12 play last season.

In this game, it would be a huge boost if Jennings and Lamar Washington could combine for around 10 points and 10 rebounds while playing somewhere near 20 minutes as a duo. That hasn't happened often this year, and maybe McCasland goes the opposite way and shrinks his rotation tonight. However, if he asks for Washington and Jennings to take the floor, they are going to have to play at a higher level than they have for most of this season.