No one was surprised to see the Texas Tech basketball team lose to Baylor 79-73 on Tuesday night in Waco. In the end, the Red Raiders entered the game as serious underdogs, but that was before it was revealed that starting big man Warren Washington would not play due to illness.
What was unexpected, however, was how close the Red Raiders were able to keep the game despite being significantly behind in the post. That's because young players like sophomores Robert Jennings and Kieron Lindsay, as well as true freshman Emeli Yaraho, came on and played well. After the game, McCasland spoke about the performance of his juniors.
Asked about Lindsey and Yaraho, McCasland said they did what the team was supposed to do by giving the Red Raiders a chance to win the game down the stretch.
“In a game like this, we needed both,” he said. “They both got in some foul trouble, so I think they were just trying to figure out a way to play the game without fouling and staying physical at the same time. Most of the time, they kept the game within reach. It's like, 'If we can keep it,' we'll probably find a way to win at the end most of the time, which I thought they did for us. ”
Neither Lindsey nor Yaraho were able to make a difference for the Red Raiders. They combined for only three points and one rebound. However, they provided the teams enough resistance to keep the teams within one or two possessions for most of the second half, except for one big run by Baylor that essentially decided the game.
Sure, Tech would have needed more at the post players (including Jennings) to win, but what they provided was enough to keep the game within reach and the experience That's all you can ask of a shallow player. Coach McCasland hinted that all the young players need is more practice time to get to a level where they can make a meaningful impact.
“The difficult thing about preparing for a game is we just need to practice, but at this time of year we don't have a lot of opportunities to practice… so for them to come out and contribute to a game like this is something we need to do. “It was a positive for us,” he said.
It was clear that McCasland was trying to nurse the young post player throughout the game all night. In fact, he even used his final timeout with over six minutes left as Baylor tried to decide the game. He explained why he made that unusual decision.
“We had a lot of guys who didn't play that many minutes in those positions,” he said. [Robert Jennings] We had to play more tonight and with KyeRon playing, we went small and I was just trying to give them the best I could. ”
Regardless of the result, McCasland seemed proud of his entire team. He hinted that there is another level the team can reach with more practice time.
“I didn't like what we did during the game, but those last three and a half minutes were the fight we had to put ourselves in the right position and that shows the character of this game.” I think the more time we practice, the more we'll see, this team can really spread the floor and score in transition. This is a fun team to coach. I wish my basketball rebounding had been stronger. We can get there, we just need to practice more.”
McCasland will have just three days to prepare before Texas Tech returns to action Saturday afternoon at home against UCF. And there's only one day left until the Red Raiders take on Kansas State in Lubbock on Monday.
Therefore, practice time for next week will be limited. That's why the growth of these young players will come more from the experience they get on Tuesday nights than what happens in the practice gym. Hopefully the lessons learned from the Waco loss will be useful and meaningful to Tech's young players. Because there is always a possibility that they will be called up again at any time.
