The 2021-22 Red Raiders are now the second team in the history of Texas Tech basketball to finish their season undefeated at home. They finished 18-0 at the United Supermarkets Arena and set a new record for most home wins in a season in the process.

Monday night was a back-and-forth affair for much of the game and a pair of Selton Miguel free-throws would give Kansas State a one-point advantage with just 1:25 remaining. The Red Raiders found themselves in a similar situation against TCU in their previous game and faltered down the stretch.

Texas Tech was able to put Saturday’s debacle behind them and would close the game on a 6-0 scoring run in the final minute to pull out the, 73-68, win over the Wildcats. Red Raider seniors Davion Warren, Bryson Williams, and Adonis Arms would put the team on their backs, scoring 27 of the teams 34 points in the second half to carry their team to victory.

On Senior Night of all nights, it was fitting to see this group of seniors do what they’ve done all season and close out their careers on a high note at home. Mark Adams said that he feels blessed by the opportunity to coach this group of seniors.

“The opportunity to coach these five guys has been incredible,” Adams noted. “God has blessed me with the opportunity to coach not just good basketball players but really good young men.

“They want to be coached, and they put the team first and set a great example for this culture. I can’t tell you how lucky I am, and how lucky we are as Red Raider Nation to have players like that in uniform that represent us every game.

“I’m so proud of them but also our fans. I want to thank the best fans in the nation, our Red Raider Nation was unbelievable. They were great tonight at the United Supermarkets Arena. It's the best arena in the country and when you put 15,000 people in there it makes it even more special.

“It was an emotional night, not only to have to say goodbye to these seniors but to say goodbye to the United Supermarkets Arena. I wish we could play the rest of our games right here.”

Davion Warren saved his best performance of the season for when the team needed him the most. Warren scored 10 of the Red Raiders’ 12 points over the final five and a half minutes of the game, and he added a season high four steals on the defensive end. Adams said that he was proud of the way Warren played.

“We have a lot of confidence in Davion, and he kind of took the game over when they were double teaming Bryson,” Adams noted. “They were really working and not letting him (Williams) get a touch, so Davion was open and made some plays.

“He (Warren) created his own shot on a couple of them and made the free throws down the stretch. I’m really proud of him. That's what we're going to need is plays like that and scoring like that, not only from Davion but also Adonis, TJ and some of these other guys.”

Nijel Pack had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer with just 14 seconds remaining, but he never got the shot off. Mylik Wilson was draped on Pack, and he showed his excellent ability as an on-ball defender by blocking the final shot attempt from the Wildcats leading scorer. Adams said after the game that they challenged Wilson in that moment.

“Malik's an unbelievable athlete with quick hands,” Adams noted. “When he's on point and playing, he's one of the best on our team, and I think in the Big 12.

“We had him on a Pack there at the end, and he made an unbelievable block there. The way Pack shoots it’s probably going in. Every time he shoots it, I think it's going in, he’s just that kind of a shooter. It was a great finish, and I’m just really proud of Mylik.”

Texas Tech finished the game with a plus-11 rebounding margin over Kansas State, and KJ Allen led the Red Raiders with eight boards. Allen has filled in well for Daniel Batcho over the last three games, and he continues to show promise around the basket and on the glass. Adams noted the impact that Allen has had of late.

“He’s (Allen) had a lot of stiff competition with Marcus and Batcho, but with Batcho being out, it's been easy to play KJ,” Adams said. “He's got just unbelievable hands and anytime he touches the ball he ends up grabbing it.

“Allen’s very explosive and comes off the floor with a lot of power. He's just really special around the basket and we saw that. I thought he made some huge rebounds and kept the ball alive when we needed it.

"We were struggling, and he kept us in the game and gave us some momentum. I was really proud of KJ.”

Texas Tech was coming off a season high 20 turnover performance against the Horned Frogs on Saturday, and they turned the ball over 18 times in game one against the Wildcats. The Red Raiders played with more discipline the second time around against Kansas State, and they were able to limit their mistakes with only 12 turnovers in the game. Adams noted that the team must continue to work on limiting their turnovers.

“That was a really disappointing loss but give TCU a lot of credit,” Adams said. “We've got this special team, but you can't go into these tournaments and not take care of the ball.

“You can't beat yourself and turning the ball over is one way you do that. We're going to take a step back and look at some of our turnovers, how we're turning them over, and see if we can look at ways to improve that. Then continuing to work on our three-point shooting.”

The Texas Tech defense has given up 68 and 69-point performances in their last two games. While that may be an impressive figure for most teams, it’s well above the Red Raiders’ season average of 61 points per game allowed. Adams said the team may have forgotten more than they’ve learned on the defensive end these last couple of games.

“We weren't very good defensively against TCU, but we were better in the second half of this game,” Adams noted. “Defense takes so much effort, energy, and communication.

“It's a collaborative effort, where everybody's got to be on the same page. If one or two guys out there aren't clued into what everyone else is doing, especially with the way we switch, then it really makes it tough.

“We put a lot of pressure on the guys, and I think in this game we were a little bit reluctant because of their three-point shooting, so we backed off some of the guys. One of the ways you hit threes is by driving to the basket and kicking out, so we didn't want to get beat on penetration.

“In the second half we started pressing the ball more, and I think that helped us get back to how we normally play. We hang our hat on defense. If we play hard and play good defense, then we're in every game.”