Coaches expect close game when Baylor, Texas Tech collide (Jan 25, 2017)
WACO, Texas -- A couple of weeks ago, Texas Tech first-year coach Chris Beard said his team anticipated a one-possession game against No. 25 Kansas State.
He said that after the Red Raiders edged the Wildcats by a point in Lubbock, Texas.
On Tuesday, Baylor coach Scott Drew said the goal in Big 12 play is to try to have a chance to win a one-possession game.
Drew made that observation when asked about Texas Tech's 18-point victory last season in Waco.
"We know that right now in the Big 12, if you look at all the conferences, it has the highest percentage of games decided by one possession or less," Drew said. "If you play well, play hard it gives you a chance to have a one-possession game."
The trend of hard-fought, down-to-the-wire Big 12 contests could continue as the fifth-ranked Bears (18-1, 6-1 Big 12) host Texas Tech (14-5, 3-4) at 7 CT on Wednesday night.
Both Baylor and the Red Raiders made the NCAA Tournament last season, the first time that happened. For it to reoccur this season, Texas Tech will have to hold up its end.
Baylor, as Beard pointed out in his press conference on Monday, has its sights set on the Big 12 championship and a possible No. 1 seed come March.
The Red Raiders need to establish more consistency in conference play, especially on the road.
Texas Tech has a couple of sparkling wins this month as the Red Raiders defeated ranked opponents West Virginia and Kansas State in Lubbock.
Road games have been a different story, though, as Iowa State, Kansas and Oklahoma all fended off the Red Raiders on their respective home courts.
Then on Saturday, Oklahoma State notched its first Big 12 win this season by routing the Red Raiders in Lubbock. That loss changed Beard's tune from trying to get his team in contention for the conference title to trying to stay out of the cellar.
"We've shown that we're able to beat anybody on a given night, but we've also shown we can get beat by anybody," Beard said. "It gets back to the day-to-day grind. As disappointing as the last game was, you've got to get back to work and give yourself a chance in the next game."
It would seem that Texas Tech has a fighting chance in this road game after the Red Raiders won in Waco a year ago and battled the Bears to a three-point game the season before that. Texas Tech has returned many of the key players from those teams and will rely on experience to be a factor.
Baylor will attempt to change the script with prolific forward Johnathan Motley, who has elevated his game this season to lead the Bears in scoring at 15.7 points per game.
The X-factor for Baylor could be point guard Manu Lecomte, who made key plays in the closing minutes to help Baylor defeat TCU on Saturday. Lecomte, a junior transfer in his first season playing for Baylor, has helped the Bears play with a different, more resilient attitude than in past seasons.
Maybe that's why Baylor sophomore guard Jake Lindsey didn't seem overly worried about the Red Raiders' recent success on the Bears' home court.
"We're a different team this year, they're a different team," Lindsey said. "So you've kind of got to take it for what it is and look at every game like a new challenge."
