Pieces come together for Tech in upset of No. 1 Baylor
Adonis Arms, Kevin Obanor, Bryson Williams and Davion Warren are all seniors who played for smaller programs last season.
Together at Texas Tech, with first-year head coach Mark Adams and a handful of returners, they have helped the 19th-ranked Red Raiders take down consecutive top 10 opponents in the Big 12.
Arms, Obanor and Williams all scored in double figures in a 65-62 road win that ended topranked Baylor’s nation-best 21-game winning streak on Tuesday night, three days after the Red Raiders beat then-no. 6 Kansas at home.
“We’re a team that believes in each other, and believes in what we’re doing together, and believes in our defense,” Adams said. “These guys have a lot of confidence because of just this eternal bond that they have. These guys get along well with each other, and love to play, they’re great competitors.“
Arms, who played at Winthrop last year after two junior college seasons and a stop at Division II Northwest Nazarene, had team highs with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists against Baylor. There was also a highlight dunk late, with a spin move around big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua for a powerful one-handed slam as the Red Raiders (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) held on late.
“That was nasty,” Kevin Mccullar, a Wagner graduate who is one of Tech’s returning players, said admirably.
Mccullar is the only player remaining from Tech’s NCAA Final Four run, though he was redshirting when the Red Raiders made it to the national championship game three years ago.
Texas Tech is home Thursday night against Oklahoma State, then goes to Kansas State on Saturday. That will wrap up five Big 12 games in an 11-day span.
Leading scorer Terrence Shannon has now missed six games in a row with a back issue.
Krzyzewski misses game at Wake Forest
No. 8 Duke played at Wake Forest on Wednesday night without coach Mike Krzyzewski on the bench.
The 74-year-old Krzyzewski is suffering from a NON-COVID-19 virus. Associate head coach Jon Scheyer handled the head coaching duties, like he will when Krzyzewski retires after this season.