WVU Basketball

5 Things to Know Before WVU vs. Texas Tech

Published

1 year ago

February 18, 2023

West Virginia and Texas Tech match up for the second time this season. Let’s take a look at five things to know before the game in Morgantown on Saturday.

First Matchup: WVU’s Bench Changed Game in Lubbock

Back on Jan. 25, West Virginia defeated Texas Tech, 76-61, to end their near two-year Big 12 road losing drought.

WVU head coach Bob Huggins showed zero patience in the first minutes of the game, benching all five starters for some usual bench players. West Virginia’s bench got the Mountaineers back into the game midway through the first half. WVU’s bench finished with 50 points.

West Virginia out-scored Texas Tech’s bench by 35 points.

Guards Joe Toussaint and Seth Wilson led WVU in scoring off the bench. Toussaint finished with a game-high 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Wilson recorded a career-high with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three. WVU F James Okonkwo also had a great game, highlighted by a block at the rim.

Red Raiders Heating Up

Texas Tech is 4-2 in their last six games, defeating Iowa State, LSU, Kansas State and Texas. The Red Raiders returned Fardaws Aimaq, who missed the first matchup against WVU with a foot injury. Aimaq is averaging 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in five games.

Mark Adams has put a little bit more of the Texas Tech culture back into his team. TTU somehow still has a path to the NCAA Tournament after starting conference play 0-8.

Very Crucial Game for Both Resumes

Every game in the Big 12 at this point is a must-win scenario.

For both WVU and Texas Tech, it’s a big game to increase NCAA Tournament odds. According to BartTorvik’s metrics, West Virginia needs to take care of business at home. The magic number of conference wins for WVU and TTU is seven; Mountaineers have four and Red Raiders have three.