'It's unacceptable': No excuses for Texas Tech basketball after home loss to Cincinnati
Before the Texas Tech basketball team even took the floor against Cincinnati, Grant McCasland knew Robert Jennings was ready to rebound from his performance against TCU.
Jennings, the 6-foot-7 big man, is relied on to spell starter Warren Washington, providing a boost off the bench by being able to hold his own in the post. It didn't work out so well against the Horned Frogs earlier in the week. McCasland said Jennings was the victim of the domino effect, one miscue leading to another.
McCasland has never questioned Jennings' heart, though. Jennings made his coach's confidence in him pay off on Saturday.
With Washington not at 100% health, and Lamar Washington missing the game due to illness, the already-thin 15th-ranked Red Raiders were in a tight spot against Cincinnati. For at least a half, Jennings gave the team a lift, recording a new career-high in scoring before halftime and finishing with 14 points and six rebounds (four offensive).
Unfortunately for Jennings, his podium game came in a losing effort. Texas Tech (16-5, 5-3) followed that setback in Fort Worth with its first home loss of the season, falling 75-72 to the Bearcats in United Supermarkets Arena.
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"I think this team holds themselves to a very high standard," Jennings said. "Coach holds us to a very high standard. So I feel like it's not going to be a step backwards. We're going to use it as motivation. We're going to get better."
McCasland echoed Jennings' sentiment, calling the Red Raiders' performance "unacceptable," especially in front of the sold-out 15,098 in attendance on Saturday.
Excuses would've been easy to come by for McCasland. The health of the Washingtons aside, Joe Toussaint battled foul trouble, Pop Isaacs struggled to get going until late in the game and the Bearcats used physicality to take away Tech's 3-point shooting prowess. The Red Raiders were just 5-of-15 from deep.
As he did following the TCU game, McCasland took the blame instead.
"They kept going over (screens)," McCasland said. "I thought we got some back cuts and we put pressure on the rim by utilizing that. That was my fault. I went to that a little too late in the game. We settled for some ball screens in the middle and wish we would move the ball more. I gotta do a better job of making sure that we take advantage of our strengths."
McCasland also wouldn't allow for a simple that's-life-in-the-Big-12 reason for the game, though few could blame him for it after back-to-back losses for the first time this season. That, though, isn't just something the Red Raiders have faced this season.
Through play on Saturday, Big 12 teams have lost at least two straight conference games 17 times (including Baylor's three straight, Kansas State's current four-game streak and Oklahoma State's six consecutive losses to open league play). Only Iowa State and Kansas can say they've avoided dropping back-to-back contests through the first month.
It's never quite that simple. It's also not that complicated, either. Losses are going to come in a league as challenging as the Big 12, and nobody's home court is safe. That doesn't mean it's going to sit well with the Red Raiders.
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Like Jennings did for his career game against Cincinnati, Texas Tech will need to find a why to shake off a tough performance.
"We weren't great," McCasland said. "We weren't 100 percent, but, man, I really appreciate our team's fight right now and the way we're competing. It's unacceptable. It's not good enough in this building. We want to win every home game.
"We're disappointed. These guys are disappointed. They're in tears in the locker room. This team is connected. They love each other and we just didn't get it done tonight."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: No excuses for Texas Tech basketball after home loss to Cincinnati
