Victory over No. 20 Texas a sign of Texas Tech basketball's growth under Grant McCasland

AUSTIN — Adjustments are the name of the game, regardless of the sport. Ignoring the flaws will only exacerbate them, causing greater problems down the road.

Grant McCasland knew this back in November, when his first Texas Tech basketball team was struggling to find a rhythm. A team full of shooters couldn't hit a bucket. The Red Raiders weren't living up to the "Toughest Team Wins" motto for the season. Sloppy plays. Defensive breakdowns. Taking their foot off the gas.

All of these, and more, were problems McCasland knew needed addressing if the team was going to compete at a high level in Big 12 play. That the team was able to clean them up in December is why they have their first signature win under their new head coach in January.

The Red Raiders were unbothered by an early seven-point deficit against 20th-ranked Texas in the Moody Center on Saturday night. They shrugged off the Longhorns' 6-0 spurt to start the second half, which turned a four-point halftime lead into a two-point deficit.

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Texas Tech simply stuck to the plan, out-toughed the Longhorns and sent the UT faithful running for the exits well before the final buzzer sounded in a 78-67 victory.

"It was just about getting a stop," Texas Tech forward Warren Washington said. "We weren't really worried about offense. We understood if we got stops, our offense would flow right and get buckets naturally. Our only focus was clamping down and getting stops."

The knockout blow came from both sides of the battle. Out of the final media timeout with 3:13 left and Texas trailing 69-63, Tyrese Hunter missed a pair of free throws. Pop Isaacs (game-high 21 points) converted a driving layup on the other end.

A Max Abmas turnover on the next UT possession was followed by a Chance McMillian fastbreak dunk, pushing the advantage to 10. A swarm of Longhorn fans quickly got up from their seats, trying to beat the traffic.

"The biggest thing tonight," Texas coach Rodney Terry said, "we were trying to hang our hat on the defensive end of the floor and try to get some stops. We weren't able to put consecutive stops together and you've got to be able to do that in this league."

Texas's two bigs in Kadin Shedrick and Dylan Disu were neutralized by Warren Washington and Robert Jennings. Washington's 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting provided a complementary piece to Tech's perimeter threats of Isaacs, Joe Toussaint (15 points, five assists) and Chance McMillian (11 points, five rebounds), who combined to shoot 6-for-11 from 3-point range.

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Self-admittedly, Washington wasn't producing the way he expected early in the season. That led to Tech (12-2 overall, 1-0 Big 12) going to smaller lineups. Since the season-ending injury to Devan Cambridge, Washington has become a threat on both ends of the floor the Red Raiders have needed.

"I feel like how I played on offense goes to show the work I've been putting in off the court," Washington said. "Beginning of the season, I feel like I wasn't making the shots I usually make and I put extra hours in in the gym and I feel like it showed today."

Jennings, meanwhile, was a boost of the bench, a big part of the 13-2 run that flipped the game in Tech's favor in the first half. Another contribution not there in early non-conference games.

Even a less-than-standard night at the free-throw line for Texas Tech (15-for-21) and seven second-half turnovers weren't detriments. Adjustments made from the first two months of action shined through on Saturday, and it paid off for an important victory that could go a long way in their ultimate goal.

"For us, it's about winning the Big 12 championship," McCasland said. "I don't mean that in any disrespect to anybody else, but you've got to win road games and you've got to win all your home games. That's the formula for it.

"Having played in it, having coached in it, in every game it's gonna be tough and if you make any game bigger than the other, then you lose. I think this was about our approach, about the way we love each other and how do we play our best basketball in order to give ourselves a chance to win."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Growth of Texas Tech basketball on display in victory over No. Texas