Monday Morning Matador: Culver brothers find success, baseball has bright future

Pour the java, it’s been a wild week for Texas Tech! Let’s get down to it.

Texas Tech men’s basketball loses in Norman to OU; rallies against Mountaineers

In arguably the toughest basketball conference in the nation, Texas Tech had a gauntlet of a week. The Red Raiders traveled to Norman last Tuesday to face a Sooners team led by breakout star Trae Young. Despite shutting him down for the first half of the game, the Sooners came together and opened up scoring opportunities for Young who ended the game with 27 points and a 75-65 victory over the Red Raiders. Despite the hiccup on the road, Coach Beard’s team came back home to play the #2 Mountaineers in front of a sold out crowd. With the backing of the raucous Red Raider faithful, the men’s basketball team rallied against West Virginia late in the second half to pull out a 72-71 victory. As a result, the Mountaineers ended their fifteen game win streak and Texas Tech remains unbeaten at home (12-0). Also NCAA’s website published an article stating “About Texas Tech: Keenan Evans and Texas Tech are national contenders.” Chew on that for a bit.

Texas Tech engineering student developing anti-concussion technology for football

As football grows ever more violent, Berto Garcia, majoring in computer engineering at Texas Tech, is focusing in on the forces at play. The football world has been plagued with rising questions regarding equipment standards in light of the growing concussion crisis. Sensor technology is also advancing and helmet designs are being reconsidered constantly. Garcia, as a result, holds a unique position in football’s future. Through a sensor-laden helmet and pads, Garcia tests impact forces and collects data that could help produce concussion-resistant headgear for the football league of tomorrow. The tech student has already received a $10,000 scholarship from the Office of Naval Research to offset the rising costs of his experimentation.

Trey Culver breaks a school record

At the Corky Classic on Saturday, Senior Trey Culver broke the school record and became the national and world leader in the high jump with his highest bar being 7-7.75 feet (2.33m). That measurement places Culver in fourth place in the NCAA history for the high jump. According to Texas Tech Athletics, Culver’s best jump is also the highest in the NCAA since 2013. While Trey was competing, his brother Jarrett made a surprise appearance to support his brother’s efforts - despite just knocking off the #2 West Virginia Mountaineers.

Texas Tech baseball ranked fourth in preseason poll

In the latest poll published by Perfect Game, Texas Tech was placed at number four behind 1) Florida, 2) Oregon State and 3) TCU. The Texas Tech baseball season opens up against Maine on February 16th. 2018 is shaping up to be one of the toughest non-conference schedule that the Red Raiders have had with teams like Kentucky, Louisville, Arkansas and Dallas Baptist Patriots. When the baseball season gets into full swing, we’ll know early on the post-season potential of the scarlet and black.

Somebody made the coffee extra strong this morning! Wreck em!