Texas Tech fans relieved after Red Raiders pull out close call at K-State

Every team in sports will play a poor game at least once a season. Most teams put forth several clunkers a year, in fact. The key is to find a way to win on those occasions when you aren't playing at your best.

Tuesday night at Kansas State, that's exactly what the Texas Tech basketball team did in a 61-57 win that might have set the game of basketball back a few decades. On one hand, Tech got lucky in regard to their timing. On one of the nights when you bring your "C" game to the floor, it is helpful to be playing one of the worst teams in the conference in an arena that wasn't even close to half full.

However, the Red Raiders still deserve credit for overcoming some serious adversity on their way to earning their third Big 12 win of the season, all of which have come on the road. First of all, the Red Raiders had to go into this game with a limited version of JT Toppin. The team's leading scorer and rebounder rolled his ankle against Iowa State on Saturday and was also under the weather according to head coach Grant McCasland.

Thus, Toppin managed to play only 15 minutes scoring just six points and pulling down only four boards. Still, the Red Raiders managed to previal.

Additionally, the Red Raiders got next to nothing from their best guard, Chance McMillian. In 33 minutes, he scored just three points and was 1-4 from the field. He also had no assists for the game. Averaging over 15 points per game entering the contest, he almost gave Tech as many turnovers (two) as he did points on Tuesday. Still, the Red Raiders managed to prevail.

What's more, Tech had to find a way to win on a night when its best player, Darrion Williams, rolled his ankle in the second half. Just as Toppin did against Iowa State when he rolled his ankle, Williams played through the pain to finish the game. He ended up with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists but he wasn't the same after coming down wrong on his ankle. Still, the Red Raiders managed to prevail.

The last two Texas Tech basketball games have been a study in irony. Against then-No. 3 Iowa State on Saturday, Tech played one of its better games of the season and yet couldn't find a way to win. But at Kansas State on Tuesday night, Tech looked sloppy, slow, and flustered for most of the game and still, somehow, managed to grind out a win.

Of course, the quality of the opponent in each game had something to do with those outcomes. Still, though, these two games are a reminder of what a wild ride college athletics can be given that we are all counting on the performances of young people to be consistent from game to game, and they rarely are.

Good teams find ways to win on nights they aren't at their best. That's what Texas Tech did against the Wildcats in Manhattan and after the game, most Red Raider fans who took to social media to discuss the game were releived that their team managed to find a way to come out on top. Let's take a look at some of the best fan reactions to the latest Texas Tech basketball game.