The 100th season of Texas Tech basketball tipped off Tuesday evening and the Red Raiders started it off with a bang, downing SWAC side Bethune-Cookman 94-61 at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Here are the takeaways from the action…
Tech makes do without Hawkins, Anderson and Yamaha
Rumors had been circulating for some time concerning the health status of several Red Raiders, including the latest additions at the point guard position with Minnesota transfer Elijah Hawkins and true freshman Christian Anderson.
Throughout warmups, Hawkins and Anderson were full participants, not appearing to be limited in any capacity. Despite this, however, the pair were held out of action and are maintaining a “day-to-day” designation, per release.
This caused guard depth to be rather thin, forcing Chance McMillian to assume point guard duties, something he was rarely, if ever, called upon to do last season.
McMillian finished with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, while also adding five rebounds and five assists putting his skills and athleticism on full display.
Darrion Williams, still good at basketball
The former Mountain West Freshman of the Year’s M.O. a season ago was to let the game come to him, finding the easy looks and getting into rhythm that way.
Williams came out of the tunnel on the prowl, pouring in 17 points before halftime on a respectable 7-10 shooting clip from the field.
Williams, who showed promise as a facilitator when given that capacity to operate last season, also pitched in six assists.
The kind of scoring performance Williams amassed was not uncommon in his first season as a Red Raider, but the way he did it Tuesday evening was uncharacteristic of the Sacramento native.
He was aggressive, not afraid to take a pull-up jumper or drive headstrong into the basket when the opportunities presented themselves.
Rain arrives early in Lubbock
How does the No. 2 three-point shooting team in the Big 12 a year ago follow up that performance?
A ridiculous 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) performance is exactly how. Rain was in the forecast for Thursday and Friday across the 806, but Grant McCasland’s team had other plans.
Kerwin Walton’s nickname around the building is “Doctor K” but he made a splash against the Wildcats behind a 7-for-12 night beyond the arc. Walton finished as the team’s leading scorer, notching 21 points, all coming from three-point land.
Kevin Overton drained Tech’s 16th made triple of the evening, which surpassed the program’s season high for a game from last season.
Red Raiders notch win No. 1, turn page to Northwestern State
It was about as mundane of a season opener as an expected Big 12 contender could have asked for.
What started out as a relatively close contest was soon dominated by the home team and the Red Raiders figured it out as they went along.
Defensive improvements will be paramount as the team looks to compete in the raucous conference, particularly around the rim.
Up next on the schedule for Tech is Friday night’s visit from Northwestern State, led by second-year coach Rick Cabrera. Part of a jam-packed week around Raiderland, tip off against the Demons is slated for 8:00 p.m.
