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'Special win': Texas Tech basketball ready for postseason after mature win over Baylor
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- 'Special win': Texas Tech basketball ready for postseason after mature win over Baylor
Grant McCasland wanted to see how mature the Texas Tech basketball team could be in a time of crisis.
Gone was a 16-point lead. Three starters had four fouls. Baylor went on a 20-6 run. Ja'Kobe Walter, the Bears' highly-touted freshman, hit a 3-pointer with 7:25 left to give his team a 54-53 lead.
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For a brief second, all the pieces to a Red Raider collapse were on display. And in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
Pop Isaacs hit a 3-pointer to regain the led, then RayJ Dennis tied the game again with yet another aggressive drive to the bucket.
Still, the Red Raiders didn't back down. Like they have several times this season, and in each of the last three games of the regular season, Texas Tech leaned on its defense. Stops came and shots started to fall. In less time than it takes to get to a media timeout, the Red Raiders snatched victory from the clutches of defeat, downing the 11th-ranked Bears 78-68 to mark yet another signature win for McCasland's squad.
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"This win definitely puts this up there as one of our top wins," Chance McMcMillian said, "because we had people in foul trouble and we still found a way to pull it out. And it was for our seniors. ... I would say it was a special win."
Senior day festivities sent Tech's usual pregame routine into disarray. Honoring student managers Beau Martin, Jake Hirst, Tye Scogin and Marlei Burrowes, then super seniors Warren Washington and Joe Toussaint, brought out the emotions before the game.
After the group photo at midcourt, the Red Raiders stayed on the floor for their final shooting warmups. Usually, Tech is in the locker room while the United Supermarkets Arena crowd sings the "Matador Song." They got their final shots up during the singalong, making an odd visual.
Texas Tech's Robert Jennings dunks the ball during the Big 12 basketball game against Baylor, Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Scott Drew knows a thing or two about how senior night can turn things into a crapshoot for teams. That wasn't an issue for the Red Raiders.
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"Senior night, sometimes people come out, they don't make plays," the Baylor head coach said. "They're a little too emotional and I thought Grant had them prepared perfect. They really executed, played well and really kicked our butt on the glass. They deserved it."
The first meeting between Texas Tech and Baylor back on Feb. 6 was Tech's first without Warren Washington — though that was due to illness rather than the current foot injury that kept Washington out of his fourth-straight game Saturday.
In that encounter, the Bears hammered Robert Jennings and Eemeli Yalaho in the paint, grabbing nine more rebounds and having 16 more points in the paint. In the rematch, Tech won the rebounding battle 40-29 and had just two less paint points.
Jennings and Yalaho, now playing more minutes with Washington sidelined, continued to show their collective improvements since the game in Waco.
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"I just feel like we've been overly focused," Jennings said. "Extra film sessions. Extra walk throughs. We've been doing the extra. We've been going the extra mile and it's paid off for us."
Saturday's win also secured the Red Raiders a double-bye in next week's Big 12 Tournament, something McCasland admitted his team needs with their limited depth. Texas Tech will start tournament play on Thursday rather than Wednesday.
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Other results before tip against Baylor made it a moot point, but the Red Raiders left no doubt by handling their own business. Now their attention can turn to the postseason.
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"I'll tell you what I love about our team right now is they want to win," McCasland said. "Nobody's out there playing the game to see how they can benefit from it individually. And you can see the collective joy that our guys are playing with. Everybody is taking accountability for the mistakes they make and everybody is trying to do their role as best as they can to help each other win.
"That's postseason basketball. That's how you win. So judging by our love for each other, I would say we're ready."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball ready for postseason after mature win over Baylor
