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/ Men's BasketballAdams previews home matchup against No. 24 TCU
February 24, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – A couple weeks ago, hardly anyone would have been blamed for dismissing this game as one simply to get through. Texas Tech was 0-8 to start Big 12 play. Figuratively, and literally, it seemed as though limping toward the final games of the season was all that was left. The team was not healthy, missing key components in Pop Isaacs, Fardaws Aimaq and Daniel Batcho. Last season's final chapter was in the Sweet 16, a story that had not experienced back-to-back losses all year. Eight straight losses was unheard of for a program in its glory years, having advanced to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 National Championship and then two more NCAA Tournaments to extend a program-best four straight trips to March Madness.
That's where the Red Raiders were though on January 25 after a home loss to West Virginia. A month later, there's reasonable optimism with the team winning six of their last eight games coming into an 11 a.m. matchup on Saturday against No. 24 TCU at a sold-out United Supermarkets Arena.
"I'm really appreciative of our players," said Texas Tech coach Mark Adams during his press conference on Thursday to preview the game. "There are so many teams that when you start 0-8 just throw in the towel. This team hasn't done that. We've seen improvement, even when we were 0-8. Our guys were getting better. It just wasn't showing up in the win-loss column. Now it is. We just need to keep growing."
Tech is now on a four-game winning streak in Big 12 play with three games remaining in the regular season. They had stopped that eight-game losing streak with a non-conference win over LSU on January 28 and followed it with their first Big 12 victory – overcoming a 23-point deficit to beat Iowa State by an 80-77 margin in overtime. Two road losses at Baylor and Oklahoma State came next to fall to 1-10 in Big 12 play, but home wins over No. 12 Kansas State and No. 6 Texas were followed by road wins at West Virginia and Oklahoma. Tech is responding from that 0-8 start, now with 5-1 record against conference opponents who were looking to sweep the season series. That set up a current situation that's not ideal at 5-10 in Big 12 play, but also a long way from where we were just a month ago.
"They're always big games in February regardless of what place you're in," Adams said. "This will be a huge game. They get bigger the closer you get to March. We've set the table with these four wins in a row and at least put us in a position for a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament. We've got to keep winning."
TCU comes to Lubbock having lost 5 of 6, experiencing injuries that pushed it back in the conference standings. The Horned Frogs are very dangerous, a team that has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 12 straight weeks. "TCU has all the pieces for a great team," Adams said. "They've struggled as of late is because their best player (Mike Miles) has been hurt. Now that he's back, they're a team that could make a long run into the NCAA Tournament. They have a lot of experience and a very good coach. They do everything well, especially pushing the ball extremely well. They are a team atop the Big 12 in attacking the basket and initiating." Tech and TCU opened Big 12 play, way back on December 31 in Fort Worth. The Red Raiders led that game 37-26 at halftime, but would fall by a 67-61 margin. That game started the 0-8 stretch and came with Tech committing a season-high 23 turnovers. TCU scored 22 points off those turnovers, winning in Fort Worth, and showing Tech what they'll have to improve upon on Saturday to extend their streak to five.
"Our Achilles' heel all season has been turnovers," Adams said. "Taking care of the ball. Whether that's guys not being patient or trying too hard, we need to keep our concentration and make the easy pass. When we take care of the ball, we play better. TCU is a team that puts a lot of pressure on you and try to turn it over. When you turn it over against TCU, it's usually a basket on the other end. It's something we have to get better at."
Tech comes into the second matchup against TCU after earning a 74-63 win at Oklahoma on Monday where they committed 13 turnovers in the first half, but only three in the second. They made adjustments and won the game – something that wasn't achieved during the losing streak. The Red Raiders won the game with four players scoring in double figures, including Aimaq going for a season-high 19 points and adding 10 rebounds. It was his second straight double-double and the 43rd in his career. He had missed the first 16 games of the season, including the first matchup against TCU. He's now played in seven games this season, providing experience and 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on the court. Jaylon Tyson added 18 points and eight rebounds at OU after scoring a career-high 27 in the win at West Virginia last Saturday, continuing an upwards trajectory for the sophomore. He had played in only eight games last season as a freshman at the University of Texas before transferring to Tech and sitting out the rest of the season. He's now averaging 11.1 points and 6.0 rebounds for the season, including providing 16.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in the past five games.
"Jaylon has always had great potential and we're watching him grow up," Adams said. "He had very little playing last season so in a lot of ways he's still a freshman. He's not playing like it now. He can score at all three levels and could be our best athlete when you look at his size and strength. When he's scoring the ball, we're tough to stop. He's been shooting well and playing with a lot of confidence."
Isaacs is now two games back from missing six with an ankle injury. He's 6-for-11 on 3-pointers in those two games and leads Tech with 53 3-pointers in his freshman season. De'Vion Harmon is experienced and has been one of the most consistent players this season. He's averaging 17.0 points over the past five games, including going off for a career-high 25 points in the win over Texas. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday – the first weekly conference honor for Tech this season. Kevin Obanor is in the top-10 statistically in scoring and rebounding in the Big 12 and has 2,087 points and 1,069 rebounds in his career after going for 11 points and seven rebounds at OU. Those are just a few of the players who are stepping up, resuscitating a season that many had left for dead.
"I think we are getting to a place now where we are getting to some consistency that we've been striving for," Adams said. "The guys understand their roles better and we're getting great performances from our starters and bench. It's been success by committee. The credit goes to the whole team."
Now there are three games remaining in the regular season. Three opportunities to build on momentum and get to where everyone expects the program to be. First up is TCU on Saturday. Then off to No. 3 Kansas on Tuesday before hosting Oklahoma State next Saturday in the regular-season finale. None of the three will be easy. Then the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City – the toughest tournament in the nation. A month ago, few held the optimism that currently is valid. The players and coaches did though. They knew if they could get healthy, stay connected, and grow, this part of the season wasn't going to be simply something to get through.
"They've got the right attitude," Adams said. "I've said all along that we wanted them to get experience. Now they have some confidence to go along with it."
For the full press conference, watch the video below.
That's where the Red Raiders were though on January 25 after a home loss to West Virginia. A month later, there's reasonable optimism with the team winning six of their last eight games coming into an 11 a.m. matchup on Saturday against No. 24 TCU at a sold-out United Supermarkets Arena.
"I'm really appreciative of our players," said Texas Tech coach Mark Adams during his press conference on Thursday to preview the game. "There are so many teams that when you start 0-8 just throw in the towel. This team hasn't done that. We've seen improvement, even when we were 0-8. Our guys were getting better. It just wasn't showing up in the win-loss column. Now it is. We just need to keep growing."
Tech is now on a four-game winning streak in Big 12 play with three games remaining in the regular season. They had stopped that eight-game losing streak with a non-conference win over LSU on January 28 and followed it with their first Big 12 victory – overcoming a 23-point deficit to beat Iowa State by an 80-77 margin in overtime. Two road losses at Baylor and Oklahoma State came next to fall to 1-10 in Big 12 play, but home wins over No. 12 Kansas State and No. 6 Texas were followed by road wins at West Virginia and Oklahoma. Tech is responding from that 0-8 start, now with 5-1 record against conference opponents who were looking to sweep the season series. That set up a current situation that's not ideal at 5-10 in Big 12 play, but also a long way from where we were just a month ago.
The dream is still alive, best believe that. #Together | #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/LQ1NwX7144
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 25, 2023
"They're always big games in February regardless of what place you're in," Adams said. "This will be a huge game. They get bigger the closer you get to March. We've set the table with these four wins in a row and at least put us in a position for a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament. We've got to keep winning."
TCU comes to Lubbock having lost 5 of 6, experiencing injuries that pushed it back in the conference standings. The Horned Frogs are very dangerous, a team that has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 12 straight weeks. "TCU has all the pieces for a great team," Adams said. "They've struggled as of late is because their best player (Mike Miles) has been hurt. Now that he's back, they're a team that could make a long run into the NCAA Tournament. They have a lot of experience and a very good coach. They do everything well, especially pushing the ball extremely well. They are a team atop the Big 12 in attacking the basket and initiating." Tech and TCU opened Big 12 play, way back on December 31 in Fort Worth. The Red Raiders led that game 37-26 at halftime, but would fall by a 67-61 margin. That game started the 0-8 stretch and came with Tech committing a season-high 23 turnovers. TCU scored 22 points off those turnovers, winning in Fort Worth, and showing Tech what they'll have to improve upon on Saturday to extend their streak to five.
"Our Achilles' heel all season has been turnovers," Adams said. "Taking care of the ball. Whether that's guys not being patient or trying too hard, we need to keep our concentration and make the easy pass. When we take care of the ball, we play better. TCU is a team that puts a lot of pressure on you and try to turn it over. When you turn it over against TCU, it's usually a basket on the other end. It's something we have to get better at."
Tech comes into the second matchup against TCU after earning a 74-63 win at Oklahoma on Monday where they committed 13 turnovers in the first half, but only three in the second. They made adjustments and won the game – something that wasn't achieved during the losing streak. The Red Raiders won the game with four players scoring in double figures, including Aimaq going for a season-high 19 points and adding 10 rebounds. It was his second straight double-double and the 43rd in his career. He had missed the first 16 games of the season, including the first matchup against TCU. He's now played in seven games this season, providing experience and 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on the court. Jaylon Tyson added 18 points and eight rebounds at OU after scoring a career-high 27 in the win at West Virginia last Saturday, continuing an upwards trajectory for the sophomore. He had played in only eight games last season as a freshman at the University of Texas before transferring to Tech and sitting out the rest of the season. He's now averaging 11.1 points and 6.0 rebounds for the season, including providing 16.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in the past five games.
"Jaylon has always had great potential and we're watching him grow up," Adams said. "He had very little playing last season so in a lot of ways he's still a freshman. He's not playing like it now. He can score at all three levels and could be our best athlete when you look at his size and strength. When he's scoring the ball, we're tough to stop. He's been shooting well and playing with a lot of confidence."
Isaacs is now two games back from missing six with an ankle injury. He's 6-for-11 on 3-pointers in those two games and leads Tech with 53 3-pointers in his freshman season. De'Vion Harmon is experienced and has been one of the most consistent players this season. He's averaging 17.0 points over the past five games, including going off for a career-high 25 points in the win over Texas. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday – the first weekly conference honor for Tech this season. Kevin Obanor is in the top-10 statistically in scoring and rebounding in the Big 12 and has 2,087 points and 1,069 rebounds in his career after going for 11 points and seven rebounds at OU. Those are just a few of the players who are stepping up, resuscitating a season that many had left for dead.
"I think we are getting to a place now where we are getting to some consistency that we've been striving for," Adams said. "The guys understand their roles better and we're getting great performances from our starters and bench. It's been success by committee. The credit goes to the whole team."
Now there are three games remaining in the regular season. Three opportunities to build on momentum and get to where everyone expects the program to be. First up is TCU on Saturday. Then off to No. 3 Kansas on Tuesday before hosting Oklahoma State next Saturday in the regular-season finale. None of the three will be easy. Then the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City – the toughest tournament in the nation. A month ago, few held the optimism that currently is valid. The players and coaches did though. They knew if they could get healthy, stay connected, and grow, this part of the season wasn't going to be simply something to get through.
"They've got the right attitude," Adams said. "I've said all along that we wanted them to get experience. Now they have some confidence to go along with it."
For the full press conference, watch the video below.
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