Sometimes, you have to pick your battles. That's what the Texas Tech basketball team must do tonight in Kansas City.
The No. 2 seeded Red Raiders are scheduled to play No. 3 seed Arizona in the semifinals finals of the Big 12 Tournament with a spot in the championship game on the line. But, while cutting down the nets in Kansas City would be a great way to end this week (and it is something Texas Tech has never done as a program), there should be no reason for head coach Grant McCasland and his team to sell out to try to get that done.
Unfortunately, the Red Raiders did not have an easy time of things in Thursday's quarterfinal victory over Baylor. In the 76-74 win, not only was Tech pushed to the brink by the No. 7 seeded Bears, who had a last-second 3-point shot to win the game, but they were also beaten up physically.
Both Chance McMillian and Federiko Federiko were forced to sit out the second half of that game with undisclosed injuries. On the game broadcast, it was said that McMillian had an "upper-body injury", while Federiko was seen with a brace or wrap on his knee while sitting on the bench.
Neither player's status for tonight's game with Arizona is known at this time. Here's hoping that both decide to sit it out.
This season has taken a physical toll on the Red Raiders. The move to 20 Big 12 games put two more demanding conference contests on the schedule than in years past. What's more, this season, the Big 12 did not give its teams a week off at any point in the conferece schedule as had been its custom.
Therefore, a number of Red Raiders including McMillian, Federiko, JT Toppin, and Darrion Williams, have played through nagging injuries. While Toppin appears to be back to full strength, the other three Red Raiders mentioned above continue to show signs of being less than 100%. That is now especially true for McMillian and Federiko after Thursday's game.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that Tech could enter tonight with only six rotational pieces to use. That's not how you want to go into a game against a physical team in Arizona that will have a size advantage almost across the board.
What's more, should Tech somehow find a way to get past Arizona, the reward would likely be a matchup with another brutally physical team, Houston, on Saturday. Thus, winning might be the worst thing Tech could do tonight.
While we don't want the Red Raiders to waive the white flag before the game has already started, we do want McCasland and his coaching staff to keep their eyes on the big prize, the NCAA Tournament, which begins in less than a week.
No one really cares who wins the Big 12 Tournament. It is only important for the teams that enter Kansas City with no other hope of earning an NCAA Tournament bid other than winning the conference tournament. And being as the four teams left are the top four seeds in the field, all four remaining teams are already guaranteed a spot in the field of 68.
To remind ourselves just how inconsequential the Big 12 Tournament is, we need to look back to 2019. That year, Tech entered the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed after sharing the regular-season Big 12 title with Kansas State. Then, in Tech's first game, the Red Raiders were upset by West Virginia, the team that finished in last place in the regular-season race.
However, does anyone remember who won the 2019 Big 12 Tournament? Likely only the fans of the team that prevailed in Kansas City that year (Iowa State).
No one talks about the glory of winning the conference tournament. However, Texas Tech fans still fondly remember that season because it ended with an appearance in the National Championship Game.
This year, Tech has designs on a similar run through the NCAA Tournament. McCasland has a team talented enough to get back to the Final Four, and that should be the only goal this team focuses on.
Getting to San Antonio won't be possible, though, if Tech enters next week beaten up. McMillian, Federiko, and the rest of the team must be as healthy as possible if the dream of winning the only tournament that matters is going to come true.
So Tech should approach the rest of its time in Kansas City with the big picture in mind. Try to play well, but don't try to go all out to win a tournament that will soon be forgotten. Give seldom-used back forward Corbin Green some run just to get Toppin and Williams some relief. Don't push an already-thin roster to the max for no reason. In fact, Tech might be wise to let someone else have the glory this week, especially now that the roster has already taken a couple of hits.