NCAA Tournament implications, takeaways from WVU vs. Texas Tech: Big 12 Tournament
West Virginia defeated Texas Tech 78-62 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center.
Here are three takeaways from the game, including NCAA Tournament implications for the Big 12 teams.
NCAA Tournament outlook improving
Dancing shoes are starting to get comfortable on West Virginia. Wednesday’s triumph was the third in four games and improved the Mountaineers’ record to 19-13.
West Virginia, the eight-seed, entered the game with a No. 25 NET ranking. The credentials are more than enough to leave the land of the bubble and not have to sweat out Selection Sunday.
Beat top-seeded Kansas in the quarterfinal at 2 p.m. on Thursday, and the Mountaineers will bounce up the seed line.
The Mountaineers lost twice to KU this season, but the most recent contest, on Feb. 25 in Lawrence, was close. The Jayhawks survived 76-74.
West Virginia got it done Wednesday by taking care of the ball. They committed nine turnovers, four fewer than their season average. Kedrian Johnson finished with 20 points and Erik Stevenson had 18 more with six assists.
With Jim Boeheim retiring, Huggs goes to the top
With the announcement of Jim Boeheim’s retirement on Wednesday, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins becomes college basketball’s winningest active coach. He has a safe lead with 934 victories. Second is Coastal Carolina’s Cliff Ellis at 828, followed by Kentucky’s John Calipari with 789 and Bill Self at 788.
“It means I’m old,” said Huggins, 69. “No, I’m not old. I’m getting older.”
Texas Tech’s NCAA Tournament case takes a hit
One Big 12 team that won’t play in the NCAA Tournament is Texas Tech. It was a rough finish to the season for the Red Raiders (16-16), who have dropped their final four games.
A preseason top 25 team, Tech fell from the polls in December and wasn’t a contender in the league race. The Red Raiders played Wednesday without head coach Mark Adams, who was suspended for making an “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment” to a player, according to the school.
Assistant coach Corey Williams served as the interim coach this week.
Williams’ connection to Kansas City: In 1992, he was a 12th round draft pick of the Chiefs even though he hadn’t played football since junior high school.
Tech announced after the game that Adams had stepped down. Adams had been an assistant for Chris Beard, who left Lubbock for Texas two years ago.
Beard was fired from Texas earlier this season after his arrest on a third-degree felony charge of assault against his fiance. The charge was later dismissed.
Beard has emerged as the top candidate for the head coaching job at Ole Miss.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 8:49 PM.