You know basketball is a different sport than football. I know that seems obvious but sometimes I wonder if we as a fanbase have a football-ish mindset, and the reason I say that is in football if you lose a game the season is practically over*. In basketball you can lose games and still be good, you can lose games and still win your conference, you can lose games and still be the national champion. The last time we had an undefeated basketball champion was 1976, so it's been a good while.
Last night was Star Night for Texas Tech. It wasn't Kerwin Walton beating Baylor. It wasn't Christian Anderson nor Eemeli Yalaho beating Baylor. It was Darrion Williams, Chance McMillian, Elijah Hawkins, and JT Toppin laying the wood.
A note on Toppin, not sure what people were seeing but he was completely wrecking Baylor when he could play. He got hurt so his minutes were limited, but in his 21 minutes he had 8 points on 8 shots, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. He was way, way too quick for Baylor. The Bears have some beef but they had nobody with the foot speed and quick jump to hang with Toppin.
Christian Anderson, not sure where to stick this so I leave it here: As a freshman he's a key part of Tech's 8 man rotation. Texas Tech is only going to play 8 guys unless there is a weird circumstance (@ Houston), and this freshman is one of the eight. He only scored one basket last night and got at least one earful from Grant McCasland, but in his 20 minutes he got 3 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He's often the point guard when Hawkins takes a breather. The future is bright.
As for the game itself, I know Baylor closed to within 3 but I don't think they had the ball with a chance to tie and after they cut it to 3 they missed their next 8 shots. I was never phased by Baylor's run, Texas Tech was the better team and got nearly any shot they wanted last night.
Big 12 standings - we're 11 games into the schedule, so past the halfway point now, and Texas Tech has positioned themselves to win the conference title. They are a game out of first place but they have already beaten both teams ahead of them, and 4th place Iowa State is two games back of Tech. It's a tall order to say that Tech has to sweep Houston and Arizona to win the Big 12, but that's where the Raiders are and no one else in the Big 12 can say that. ISU, Kansas, Baylor - none control their destiny. It's a three team race now and Tech has games in hand against Arizona and Houston.
Arizona Saturday night will be a task. They've won five straight, which is second only to Tech's seven straight so something is going to give. In fact their only loss since mid December is to Texas Tech, so the Wildcats will be ready for sure. If you want to be firmly in every Top 10 list then win this game. Losing this game deals a big blow to your conference title hopes, but it's not the end of the world because there are 8 games after this one.
Who is the best or most valuable player for the Red Raiders? I keep thinking it's Toppin, and it probably is, but if it is then Williams and McMillian are probably second on this list. The whole list is top heavy because of the 8 man rotation - not a lot of guys to choose from.
Who is coming on the most for Texas Tech? A case can be made pretty easily for Federiko Federiko. The last few games he has really impacted the game on defense - he's altered shots, blocked shots, and made shots not even happen. I'm a firm believer that good post defense is the bedrock of good teams, and while Federiko is not the best player on the team or close to it, he is critically important to this team.
Who does Chance McMillian remind you of? Because of his slender build, long arms, fluid shot, and his scoops and finger rolls when he drives the ball he brings to my mind Reggie Miller. He's not as tall as Miller but they have very similar games.
I was past Baylor with 10 minutes left in the game, bring on Arizona.
Oh, defense, yes. You know I loved Tech's identity with the no middle defense. I loved it, it was like a soft, warm blanket around me all the time. I had no fear of any team because I knew in my heart that defense was ferocious and formidable and when Tech got up 5 or 8 points I knew Tech could win. I feel the same way about the current Tech man to man defense, it's grown and evolved and developed over the season to where it is now, and where it is now is ferocious and formidable and feels like a soft, warm blanket around me all the time.
*Or used to be this way prior to the playoffs, but we only one year into the playoffs so I think this one-loss-is-doom mindset is still very common.
Last night was Star Night for Texas Tech. It wasn't Kerwin Walton beating Baylor. It wasn't Christian Anderson nor Eemeli Yalaho beating Baylor. It was Darrion Williams, Chance McMillian, Elijah Hawkins, and JT Toppin laying the wood.
A note on Toppin, not sure what people were seeing but he was completely wrecking Baylor when he could play. He got hurt so his minutes were limited, but in his 21 minutes he had 8 points on 8 shots, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. He was way, way too quick for Baylor. The Bears have some beef but they had nobody with the foot speed and quick jump to hang with Toppin.
Christian Anderson, not sure where to stick this so I leave it here: As a freshman he's a key part of Tech's 8 man rotation. Texas Tech is only going to play 8 guys unless there is a weird circumstance (@ Houston), and this freshman is one of the eight. He only scored one basket last night and got at least one earful from Grant McCasland, but in his 20 minutes he got 3 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He's often the point guard when Hawkins takes a breather. The future is bright.
As for the game itself, I know Baylor closed to within 3 but I don't think they had the ball with a chance to tie and after they cut it to 3 they missed their next 8 shots. I was never phased by Baylor's run, Texas Tech was the better team and got nearly any shot they wanted last night.
Big 12 standings - we're 11 games into the schedule, so past the halfway point now, and Texas Tech has positioned themselves to win the conference title. They are a game out of first place but they have already beaten both teams ahead of them, and 4th place Iowa State is two games back of Tech. It's a tall order to say that Tech has to sweep Houston and Arizona to win the Big 12, but that's where the Raiders are and no one else in the Big 12 can say that. ISU, Kansas, Baylor - none control their destiny. It's a three team race now and Tech has games in hand against Arizona and Houston.
Arizona Saturday night will be a task. They've won five straight, which is second only to Tech's seven straight so something is going to give. In fact their only loss since mid December is to Texas Tech, so the Wildcats will be ready for sure. If you want to be firmly in every Top 10 list then win this game. Losing this game deals a big blow to your conference title hopes, but it's not the end of the world because there are 8 games after this one.
Who is the best or most valuable player for the Red Raiders? I keep thinking it's Toppin, and it probably is, but if it is then Williams and McMillian are probably second on this list. The whole list is top heavy because of the 8 man rotation - not a lot of guys to choose from.
Who is coming on the most for Texas Tech? A case can be made pretty easily for Federiko Federiko. The last few games he has really impacted the game on defense - he's altered shots, blocked shots, and made shots not even happen. I'm a firm believer that good post defense is the bedrock of good teams, and while Federiko is not the best player on the team or close to it, he is critically important to this team.
Who does Chance McMillian remind you of? Because of his slender build, long arms, fluid shot, and his scoops and finger rolls when he drives the ball he brings to my mind Reggie Miller. He's not as tall as Miller but they have very similar games.
I was past Baylor with 10 minutes left in the game, bring on Arizona.
Oh, defense, yes. You know I loved Tech's identity with the no middle defense. I loved it, it was like a soft, warm blanket around me all the time. I had no fear of any team because I knew in my heart that defense was ferocious and formidable and when Tech got up 5 or 8 points I knew Tech could win. I feel the same way about the current Tech man to man defense, it's grown and evolved and developed over the season to where it is now, and where it is now is ferocious and formidable and feels like a soft, warm blanket around me all the time.
*Or used to be this way prior to the playoffs, but we only one year into the playoffs so I think this one-loss-is-doom mindset is still very common.
