There were a few different sightings before and early on in the game, those were that Avery Benson switched from 24 to 21 and Jahmi’us Ramsey took off his mask.

Could’ve guessed Ramsey was about to go off.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders got back on track after Davide Moretti, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Ramsey scored 25, 23 and 21 to lift the Tech over No. 12 West Virginia 89-81.

The Red Raiders shot 56 percent from the floor and 70 percent from deep in the first half. In the second half, things got a bit testy as three West Virginia players received technical fouls. Free throws became a huge contributor to Tech’s lead as the Red Raiders shot 28-32 from the free throw line.

Shannon shot 14 of the 32 freebies on the night, making 12 while a lot of time drawing fouls while driving to the rim. Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said Shannon was a downhill driver with his shooting getting better as well.

“He’s got a diverse game,” Beard said. “He’s an aggressive player and great free throw shooter. Wish I could take credit for that. We work on it, but he’s got a poise about him, and I don’t know if I’ve really enjoyed watching a freshman walk up there in big times than him because I think every time the ball leaves his hands, it’s going in, very similar to Moretti when he was a freshman.”

85 of the 89 points tonight were scored by the starters, which may seem daunting, but Beard said he’s seen it all.

“I’m still kind of a young guy, but I’ve seen it all,” Beard said. “But tonight, our starting lineup did a great job offensively. No doubt about it.”

Beard also talked about the 22 turnovers tonight, 13 in the first and nine in the second. Beard said it was a great offensive night in a lot of ways, however,

“Most of our baskets were assisted,” Beard said. “That’s the unselfishness we’re looking for. We got to the free throw line; that’s the aggressiveness we’re looking for. We shot the ball with confidence tonight, and you can’t always depend on that, but it’s nice to see that show up. Now the glaring thing was the turnovers. We’ll just keep working on it. It’s a commitment from our program. From coaches and players, we understand that it’s an issue, and we’re working really hard to try to improve it.”

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins talked about the way his team played and simply stated they gave up too many points.

““We didn’t take away anything that we actually talked about, practiced, drilled,” Huggins said. “When you don’t do that against Chris (Beard’s) teams you’re going to pay for it. They’re well-coached and made shots. We didn’t. They made shots.”

“(Moretti) made open shots,” Huggins said. “I tell our guys virtually every day, ‘if you’re going to advance in the NCAA Tournament you can’t miss step-in shots. You can’t miss open shots.’ If this is an NCAA Tournament game we’re going home because we let him hit a bunch of step-in shots. When he gets step-in shots he makes them. That’s what makes him a good player. We had the same shots, didn’t make them. We shot 22%. They shot 65, I think it was, from 3. We’re going to lose.”

Kevin McCullar, who had quite the impact last outing against Kentucky, did not appear in the game tonight. Beard said “Mac” had not practiced this week at all.

“So at halftime, he was completely cleared the other night,” Beard said, “and his decision, his parents were even in there a little bit, the doctor (too). Everything was fine, and then what a courageous second half, you know, against Kentucky. And then the next morning, you know, a headache or two. We don’t mess around with that here. Those are doctors’ decisions.”

Beard said he is progressing well through the concussion protocol and hopes to get McCullar back quickly.

Avery Benson usually wears 24 on his jersey, but with the passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, Benson felt it was necessary to change his number in honoring Kobe.

Beard said that all Benson’s idea and decision.

“I was in my office,” Beard said. “As a coach you’re always, ‘what does that mean,’ then he just said he doesn’t want to play in Kobe’s number. I supported it immediately. That’s Avery Benson, right? That’s where his heart is and his mind. That’s why he’s one of my all-time favorite guys I’ve ever coached.”

The schedule does not get any easier just yet for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will hit the road for a Saturday matchup in Lawrence against the Kansas Jayhawks.