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Happy 78th birthday to my dad and to those that celebrate, happy St. Patty’s Day!
On the Hardwood
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander ranks all 68 teams and has Texas Tech at No. 20:
The Red Raiders are trying to pull off a Final Four run without their All-American forward JT Toppin, who went down for the season with an ACL injury on Feb. 17. Since that injury, TTU is 3-3. Star guard Christian Anderson (a potential All-American himself) now carries a heavy load, but he’s got some help with teammate Donovan Atwell, who hits 45% of his 3s. Grant McCasland is rising up the ranks among the best coaches in the country. TTU was a few plays away from making the Final Four a year ago. Can the Red Raiders muster enough spirit to get that far again? I hate that we don’t get to see Toppin on the floor, because with him, this would be a viable threat to get to Indianapolis.
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I don’t like to look ahead, but as fans, we can and it doesn’t matter. Via CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford Alabama’s 2nd leading scorer Aden Holloway was removed from the team following an arrest, which included more than a pound of marijuana in his home. If he’s been removed from the team it would seem likely that Holloway won’t play this weekend.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas predicts every game in the bracket and predicts Texas Tech to win the first game:
There’s an argument to be made that Akron had a better résumé than Miami (Ohio) — and maybe was even the better team, even though the RedHawks won the one head-to-head meeting. The Zips are legit, and they’re going to be a tough out. But if Christian Anderson is healthy and can find Donovan Atwell, one of the best shooters in America, for open shots, Texas Tech takes this one.
This was written probably before Holloway was arrested, Bilas has Texas Tech losing to Alabama:
The Crimson Tide do not defend at the highest level, but they can really shoot it. Philon is a dude, but so are Latrell Wrightsell and Amare Allen. They’ve got a bunch of guys who can score. The shotmaking Alabama team takes it.
On the Gridiron
ESPN’s Heather Dinich has notes around the country and normally this isn’t that big of a deal, but the fact that Texas Tech is included in these types of articles says more than the article itself. This is what Dinich has this about Texas Tech:
Coach Joey McGuire said his son, running backs coach Garret McGuire, recently told him about this year’s team goal: become the first Big 12 school to win back-to-back conference titles since Oklahoma won six straight from 2015 to 2020.
The Sooners are the only team to win back-to-back outright Big 12 titles, and also won three straight from 2006 to 2008
“He goes, ‘Dad, all I’m concerned about is being the next team. OU’s the only team to do it. So how do we figure this out?'” Joey McGuire said. “And [Bob] Stoops is one of my favorite dudes. And his book is probably my favorite. I’ll read it at some point every year. It’s called ‘No Excuses.’ This might be the no excuses year. We’re a really talented football team. There’s no excuses why not to do it.”
Texas Tech returns 14 starters from last year’s Big 12 title team, though three of the defensive players not returning are ranked in ESPN analyst Jordan Reid’s top 50 players following the NFL combine. On the offensive side of the ball, McGuire said he expects the Red Raiders to be better on the line.
“What’s crazy is, I thought we were a big team last year,” he said. “We’re an even bigger team than we were last year. When you see us get off the bus, we look the part. At different times at different positions we haven’t. Mass kicks ass. Let’s just keep getting bigger up front.”