Monday Morning Matador: MVP! MVP! MVP!

January lasted for an extraordinarily long time, but we’ve finally made it to February - with a couple of bumps and bruises. Let’s recap this past week and get on to the next one, shall we?!

Texas Tech basketball wins against TCU, falls to Kansas

Texas Tech was able to represent on Big Monday for the first time since 2006 against 15-4 TCU. In front of a packed house, Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, and Davide Moretti posted double-digit figures to help propel Tech to a 84-65 victory. The Red Raiders finished the game shooting 54% from the field, 42.9% from beyond the arc and limited their turnovers to seven. The victory moved Texas Tech to 12-1 at home and 17-4 on the season.

On Saturday, Texas Tech traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to try their hand in the Phog after last year’s success. Unfortunately Kansas, in their two-game losing streak, was primed to win and avoid embarrassment. Much like the Baylor game, Kansas was knocking down three pointers without pause - the went 13-30 from beyond the arc. The Red Raiders were hard-pressed to find an offensive rhythm and were down by as much as 23 points in the game. Without any momentum, Texas Tech fell to Kansas 79-63. Up next Texas Tech takes on West Virginia for another Big Monday match up.

Patrick Mahomes awarded NFL’s Most Valuable Player

Texas Tech has a number of representatives in the NFL, but none greater -by voted decision- than Patrick Mahomes. In his first year as a starter, Mahomes was named the league’s Most Valuable Player as well as the Offensive Player of the Year. The decision came easy to most voters, as the first-year starter tore apart defenses like it was his job. Oh wait. 50 touchdowns and 5000+ yards later Mahomes became the youngest player to be named NFL MVP. Number fifteen took the Kansas City Chiefs to an impressive 12-4 record and one game short of the Super Bowl.

Womens Tennis drops 4-1 to South Carolina

Sunday morning was a tough one for Coach Petty and the womens tennis team. The No. 20 Lady Raiders took on No. 15 South Carolina and managed only one point. That victory came from freshman Olivia Peet who took a 6-1, 6-4 victory over South Carolina’s Rachel Rohrabacher. Despite that, the Gamecocks went on to win four matches and put the Red Raiders away. The loss moves Texas Tech to 3-2 on the season, and up next they face No. 17 Miami on the road.

Mens Tennis defeats Texas A&M

In the grittiest win of the season, Texas Tech men’s tennis team defeated the No. 14 ranked Texas A&M 4-3. Coach Masi made an effort to press on the team, following two ranked losses, that tempo and urgency were crucial to this match up. “Tech’s fast start ended up being everything,” he said. Bjorn Thomson, Parker Wynn, Jackson Cobb, Tommy Mylnikov, and finally Franco Ribero gave Tech their strongest performance of the season to help maintain the lead over the Aggies. Up next the Red Raiders face off against a strong No. 3 Mississippi State in Lubbock.