Texas Tech came back and defeated West Virginia 81-70, improving to 20-9 (9-7) in head coach Grant McCasland's first season in Lubbock.
Red Raiders start slow, Mountaineers jump out to lead early
West Virginia took a 20-4 lead around 12 minutes into the first half, but the Red Raiders struggled in the early going. While the Red Raiders struggled to get started, the Mountaineers shot 61 percent from the field and from behind in the first half, opening up a huge lead.
Tech changed its defensive strategy against 6-11 center Jesse Edwards, and after a frustrating start, shots started falling on the Red Raiders' guard, but they cut the deficit to six points at halftime. I was able to do that.
Tech erased a 16-point deficit and won.
Behind a strong half of Joe Toussaint and Pop Isaacs, the Red Raiders heated up in the second half, both of whom took some tough shots for the Red Raiders. Toussaint returned to Morgantown after transferring to Tech in the late summer and scored 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting.
Chance McMillian made a big three with 15:35 left in the second half to give Tech its first lead of the tournament, making 1 of 5 3-pointers and scoring 19 points. Darrion Williams was also key to the Red Raiders' comeback, scoring 17 points of his own with a team-leading nine rebounds and playing solid defense against the much larger Edwards down the stretch.
Red Raiders achieve 20th win of the campaign
Head coach Grant McCasland is having his seventh 20-win season in eight years as a Division I head coach, but the only year he didn't reach 20 wins was in overtime in the NCAA Tournament. It was an unusual 2021 season that ended with a win over Purdue and an NCAA Tournament championship.
The Red Raiders are at least .500 in Big 12 conference play with two games left in McCasland's first year, while dealing with significant injury troubles and off-court drama in the 2023-24 season. Looks like it's ready to reach the tournament.
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