No. 12 Texas Tech may be without injured seniors vs. TCU (Mar 02, 2018)
TCU and Texas Tech both appear to be headed to the NCAA Tournament as they reach the end of the Big 12 regular season.
But their clash will still have plenty of meaning when the Horned Frogs play at the No. 12 Red Raiders on Saturday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech (22-8, 10-7 Big 12) will be trying to end a four-game losing streak by sending off an accomplished senior class with a victory. When Red Raiders seniors Justin Gray, Keenan Evans and Zach Smith and redshirt junior Norense Odiase arrived on campus as freshmen, the program had gone 46-80 under four different head coaches the previous four seasons.
But in the last four years, the Red Raiders seniors have turned around the program and enter March with a career mark of 72-54 that includes an NCAA Tournament berth in 2016.
"If you look at the program where they were the day they got here, respectfully, and where it is now, you've got to give those guys a lot of credit," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said.
The Red Raiders raised the bar this season, reaching a high point of 22-4 and a program-record No. 6 national ranking. But Evans suffered a toe injury and Gray left early with an apparent concussion in last week's showdown with Kansas.
Neither Evans nor Gray played at West Virginia on Monday when Texas Tech lost by 10. Smith, who returned against Kansas after a two-month absence with a broken foot, also sat out against the Mountaineers.
Beard didn't specify on the availability of the three injured seniors during media availability on Thursday, although he did attest to their positive attitudes.
"Full go in terms of willingness and wanting to help the team and being out there and being available, we hope so," Beard said. "A hundred percent with their bodies? No."
While Texas Tech attempts to get back to full strength, TCU will try to keep rolling.
The Horned Frogs (21-9, 9-8) have won four straight and can pull even with the Red Raiders for third place in the Big 12 by winning in Lubbock. TCU could also likely re-enter the Associated Press Top 25 by finishing the conference regular-season schedule with a victory.
"I like our team right now and obviously we're playing well and playing our best basketball at the end," TCU coach Jamie Dixon said after his team's win over Kansas State on Tuesday. "I think our eight guys really understand their roles, when they're getting in and when they're getting out, and I think we're playing as good as anybody right now. We're excited about it."
The Horned Frogs will be trying to get payback for Texas Tech's 12-point victory in Fort Worth in early February. TCU fell behind by 18 points midway through the first half and needs to reverse that trend to defeat Texas Tech on its home court.
The Red Raiders have themselves been falling behind early in games. Kansas grabbed an 8-0 lead a week ago in Lubbock and West Virginia raced to a 16-0 advantage before Texas Tech fought its way back and ultimately fell by 10.
"It wasn't lack of effort. It was just the ball didn't go in on offense and obviously we played a little bit short-handed," Beard said about the loss at West Virginia. "We've got to figure out a way to try to get off to a better start."
