(6) TEXAS TECH VS. (11) UTAH STATE
12:45 p.m. today; TV: TNT
Though many Texas Tech players haven’t been with the team on the NCAA Tournament stage before, coach Chris Beard is no stranger to the environment.
In 2018, Beard’s group earned the school’s first Elite Eight berth. The next year, the Red Raiders made their first national championship game, losing to Virginia 85-77 in overtime.
In five seasons at the helm, Beard has turned the program from one that made the Big Dance just once from 2008-17into one now on its third straight appearance with a shot to make another deep run.
“I think we’re more than close. I think we’re right there,” Beard said Wednesday when he met with the media. “I’m not delusional, (and) I’m not arrogant, but I’m just telling you the truth: I think we’re right there. When we came to Tech five years ago, our thing was we’ve got to get in the fight. If you’re ever gonna win the fight, you’ve got to get in the fight, and here we are.”
Led by Georgetown transfer and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Mac McClung, Texas Tech will kick off its NCAA Tournament run at 12:45 p.m. Friday against Utah State.
In a way, Beard already knows the team the Red Raiders are up against in the first round. He said he’s crossed paths with the Aggies’ Craig Smith throughout their coaching careers, enough that he considers him a friend. He even sees some similarities in the teams’ defensive success.
Both teams are particularly efficient defending the rim, with Texas Tech ranking 22nd (44.8 percent) and Utah State fourth (42.9 percent) nationally in opponents’ two-point percentage, according to
TeamRankings. Both also feature big bodies who help control the paint in Tech’s Marcus Santos-Silva and Utah State’s Neemias Queta, the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year.
It’s a good test for the Red Raiders out of the gate, and they can’t afford a slow start.
“The film that we have watched, these guys are very competitive and tough,” Kyler Edwards said of the Aggies. “They’re an older group, and it seemed like they’re a connected team.”
Added Beard: “(Smith is) a friend in this business. I was really excited for him that they got in the NCAA Tournament, (but) I was not excited for myself that we have to face them.”
Texas Tech feels prepared, however, for whatever Utah State might throw its way. In games against the six other Big 12 schools that made the tournament this season, the Red Raiders were 4-9, including two wins over Texas, a No. 3 NCAA seed. Of the 27 total games Texas Tech has played, 11 were against ranked teams.
“In my opinion, I think the Big 12 is the toughest conference in the nation,” Edwards said. “You play against pros and very talented guys every night, and just like the tournament, you’re gonna play against very talented guys every single game.
“You have to be good to make it to the tournament, so, I mean, that right there, those 17 games we played, I think it prepared us for this moment.”
That’s why Beard says there’s no reason for anyone on his team to be nervous about what the Red Raiders will face Friday.
“If you’ve got nerves right now, man, start the bus,” Beard said.