On a night when two of Texas Tech's star players were merely average and the third was sidelined with an injury, a pair of seniors stepped up to help push the Red Raiders to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In an 82-72 victory over UNC Wilmington, Kerwin Walton scored a career-high 27 points and Elijah Hawkins came within an eyelash of a triple-double by posting 14 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds as the Red Raiders pulled away late to advance.
Taking down the No. 14-seeded Seahawks was far from easy for the No. 3-seeded Red Raiders. After once leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, Tech led only 38-34 at the half and actually trailed 48-47 in the middle of the second half.
However, Walton and Hawkins were not going to let their college basketball careers end. Walton hoisted 19 field goals, all of which were from 3-point range. He made eight coming up just one shy of equaling the school record for a single game.
Meanwhile, Hawkins wasn't very good from the floor (3-14 overall), however, he was dependable at the free-throw line when Tech had chances to extend the lead. In the final five minutes, he sank five of eight free throws to help the Red Raiders maintain their advantage.
In March, you don't apologize for wins, especially those that come in the NCAA Tournament so even though this wasn't as dominant of a performance as most hoped it would be, it was one that Red Raider fans will gladly take. So let's go inside the box score for some quick takeaways.
Texas Tech's stars held in check
On a night when star guard Chance McMillian didn't play due to an upper body injury, the team's two other top scorers were held in check. Fortunately, the Red Raiders had enough firepower to survive.
Leading scorer, JT Toppin was double-teamed all night and as a result, he didn't have as many shot attempts as we've grown accustomed to seeing him take. He was just 6 of 8 from the floor for 12 points. He did grab 11 rebounds, though, to secure yet another double-double on the season.
Meanwhile, Darrion Williams seemed to press, especially on offense. He ended the game with 13 points but he was just 5-15 from the floor. That included an 0-4 performance from 3-point range with most of those attempts being frustrating heaves early in the shot clock.
Moving forward, this duo must be more efficient and more dominant, especially if McMillian remains sidelined. Tech was able to win without big games from its two available stars but that might not be the case in the next round.
Texas Tech freshman Christian Anderson looked like a freshman
All season, we've marveled as true freshman, Christian Anderson has looked poised and mature beyond his years. But in his first NCAA Tournament game, he looked every bit like a freshman.
Getting the start in McMillian's place, he was just 2-9 from the floor for seven points. That included a 1-8 showing from 3-point range.
Anderson was the only starter who failed to score in double figures. However, he did come up with a couple of key plays.
With 8:45 to play, he hit a lay-up while being fouled and he made the subsequent free throw for the old-fashioned 3-point play. That put Tech ahead 60-55.
Then, he drained a corner 3-pointer with 2:57 to play to give his team a 76-64 edge. That shot was essentially the dagger that put the game to rest.
While it was great to see Anderson make some plays late, he has to be better in round two than he was against UNCW. That's especially true if he's going to be asked to start in McMillian's place.
Texas Tech finally cools off UNCW's hottest shooter
For much of this game, it looked as if UNCW's Nolan Hodge was going to be one of those mid-major players who has a career game and carries his team to a major NCAA Tournament upset. He came off of the bench to lead his team with 18 points (nearly 11 above his season average) and he was 7-15 from the floor.
However, from about the middle of the first half until the middle of the second half, he looked like Michael Jordan. There was a stretch where everything he hosted toward the rim not only went in but did so without even thinking about touching iron.
Fortunately, Tech either put the clamps on him or he cooled off down the stretch. Over the final six minutes of the game, he was 0-3 from the field and he scored only two points at the free-throw line. As a result, the UNCW offense was unable to keep pace with the Red Raiders. Thankfully, Hodge didn't become another March giant Killer because, for a time, that looked like what he was going to be.
There is a point when Texas Tech can shoot too many 3s
While everyone will admit that this is the best 3-point shooting team Tech has ever had, the Red Raiders pushed the absolute limit of what is too many 3s in a game. That was one reason why the offense was stagnant for most of the game.
In all, Tech shot 46 shots from beyond the arc. That was the most in one game in program history. That was simply too many and had it not been for Kerwin Walton's eight makes, it would have spelled doom.
Outside of Walton, Tech had three players shoot at least four 3s. None of them made more than 25% of their attempts.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 Player of the Year and second-team All-American, JT Toppin, was a spectator on offense for much of the night. That shouldn't have been the case, even with UNCW sending extra defenders at Toppin.
Against Drake in the second round, Tech can't settle for so many 3s. The Bulldogs will likely try to bait Tech into falling in love with the outside shot knowing that they don't have the personnel to match up with Toppin down low.
Tech must find a way to drive the ball to the hole, even if the best off-the-dribble guard on the team, McMillian, is unavailable. This team was lucky to win a game in which 66.6% of its field goals were 3s. That's not a strategy that will yield positive long-term results, though.