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The Big 12 Tournament didn’t go as expected for the Red Raiders, as the loss against the Mountaineers in the semifinal stopped their run, and we had an indication on how much this team needs Keenan Evans in order to win games.
It may be a very simplistic equation, but when the senior guard scored a lot, Texas Tech won the game, while when he had a bad (for his standards, make it clear) night shooting, the Red Raiders came out with an L. For intellectual honesty, we have to consider West Virginia has a far better defense than Texas, but numbers are in front of us.
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In his dominant performance against the Longhorns, Keenan was impressive, as he scored more than 1⁄3 of Texas Tech’s points, 25 out of 73, went 7/10 from the field, and 9/14 from the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds and three assists.
And now, let’s go to the West Virginia game, in which Keenan “only” had 13 points, being the second scorer of the team: he closed his night with 5/14 from the field, 0/3 from beyond the arc, and 3/8 from the free-throw line, perfectly guarded by the Mountaineers defenders.
With the NCAA tournament approaching, it’s important for Evans and other players to regroup from the last loss: in my opinion, this year’s squad has an important occasion to have a nice run, so it’s crucial for him to perform well, but also to involve his teammates in the game.