Texas Tech’s NCAA hopes hinge on player health

Published 6:36 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2025

WICHITA, Kan. — Head coach Grant McCasland said his Texas Tech men’s basketball team is excited and ready to start the NCAA Tournament.

Now the question is, how healthy will the third-seeded Red Raiders (25-8) be when they face No. 14-seed UNC Wilmington (27-7) in a first-round game at 9:10 p.m. Thursday at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas? The game will be televised on truTV.

The Red Raiders were forced to play without starters Chance McMillian and Darrion Williams in last Friday’s Big 12 Tournament semifinal game against Arizona. The short-handed Red Raiders hung in there with the Wildcats before Arizona prevailed, 86-80.

McMillian was nursing an upper body injury while Williams was seen wearing a boot on his right foot during the game against Arizona.

McCasland told the Lubbock media on Sunday that he expects both all-conference players to be on action on Thursday, but to what extent, he wasn’t sure.

“I do know that they are hard at work in trying to get, specifically Chance and Darrion ready to go,” he said.

Health was a concern last year for the Red Raiders going into last year’s NCAA Tournament, the first under McCasland, the one-time Midland College coach. Post Warren Washington and Williams were both not at 100% and it may have cost them in a first-round loss to a red-hot North Carolina State team.

“To play in this first one, we get a few days to recover, then I think we’ve got to get better,” McCasland said. “Specifically, we played one of our worst defensive games of the year against Arizona. A lot of it had to do with our ability to rotate and keep the ball out of the paint. A lot of it also had to do Arizona making some tough shots and did a great job scoring. We’re trying to fine-tune, one, transition defense, and two, how do we get better being more physical at the rim and help. Those two things, we’ve got to take a big step in, and always rebounding is big for our team. The better we rebound, the better we play.”

Good news for the Red Raiders that they have experience playing without key players throughout the season. McCasland said because of injuries, several players have picked up significant minutes.

“There’s not question that the depth of our roster has been strengthened by the last few weeks,” he said. “But I also know there’s an urgency to get everybody back and play our best basketball. That’s the name of the game this time of year.”

The Seahawks come in on a six-game winning streak and won the Coastal Athletic Conference Tournament. Unlike the Red Raiders, they don’t take a lot of 3-point attempts, only averaging 7.3 per game, but they have size inside and are holding opponents to 69.9 points per game.

McCasland has experience playing against UNC-Wilmington and head coach Takayo Siddle back as his former North Texas team faced the Seahawks in a tournament in the Bahamas.

“They actually beat us in a very competitive game,” McCasland recalled. “They’re tough, they’re physical, they play hard. Man, just a ton of respect for them. We know what this is. When you make it to the tournament, you’ve got a great team.”

McCasland said whatever his team is facing, he believes that the Red Raiders have a strong bond in the locker room, which will help them overcome any challenges they may face.

“These guys really do love each other,” McCasland said. “In our film session, I can just tell you there’s a real sense of love for each other. It’s genuine. I think that’s a big part of winning and competing at this time of year because you have to be more unselfish than you’ve ever been. You have to be more humble than you’ve ever been. I think there has to be a realness to whatever you’re willing to do to get it done. Every game will be different. This game, specifically, will take everything we have to win and we’re aware of that, and I think our guys are willing to do it.”