{"id":155433,"date":"2026-02-07T22:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T22:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/155433\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T22:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T22:33:14","slug":"mccasland-texas-tech-push-to-elevate-competitiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/155433\/","title":{"rendered":"McCasland, Texas Tech push to elevate competitiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Tech<\/a> is coming off a 2-game losing streak heading into Morgantown, WV to take on the Mountaineers<\/a>. The Red Raiders sit at 5th in the Big 12 Conference standings, behind Arizona (9-0), Houston (8-1), Iowa State (7-2), and Kansas (7-2). Head Coach Grant McCasland<\/a> caught up with the local media before heading off to West Virginia.<\/p>\n

The Big 12 Week-To-Week<\/p>\n

Coach McCasland opened his press conference with West Virginia\u2018s fight game-to-game, and the Mountaineers win over Cincinnati in Fifth Third Arena 59 to 54.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig 12 Conference, man. What a fight every every day and every night to to be great in this league. And no different than playing on Sunday at West Virginia. And obviously Ross Hodge<\/a> being one of my best friends. I love what he\u2019s doing with their team. They\u2019re finding ways to win close games. They\u2019ve been in a lot of them and winning on the road at Cincinnati says a lot about how tough they are. Looking forward to the opportunity to go compete and we\u2019re going to have to play our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mindset<\/p>\n

Texas Tech has stumbled twice in a row heading into this matchup with the Mountaineers. The losing streak followed a 5-game win streak which included wins over Houston, and BYU. Coach McCasland will look to use these past few close losses toward more competitive play heading forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo really the focus has been on how do we do our best to give ourselves the best chance to win this game. Doesn\u2019t matter who the head coach is. Doesn\u2019t matter who we\u2019re playing. Just look at the numbers, look at the personnel, and look at what we got to do. Put ourselves in position. I feel like our practices have been awesome and our preparation has been right. I know that if we go out and do everything that we\u2019ve practiced in order to put ourselves in position with all our heart, we\u2019ll be better no matter what. And that\u2019s kind of my heart going into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we\u2019re not trying to play together. We\u2019re competing together. And I think that allows you to actually win, not just perform. And there\u2019s a difference between competitiveness, playing, and winning. Going out there and trying your best to play without getting in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injury Updates<\/p>\n

Christian Anderson<\/a> was unable to go for Kansas, suffering an illness prior to tip-off on Monday night. The Red Raiders did not know he couldn\u2019t go until near tip-off time against the Jayhawks. Following the week since the matchup took place, McCasland is confident his All-American point guard is ready to go for West Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would anticipate Christian (Anderson) being ready to go with no complications from what he dealt with against Kansas\u2026 we\u2019ve had two great practices with him doing everything that we did prior to and seen no ill effects or no negative from what happened on Monday against Kansas, so I anticipate him being a full go.\u201d<\/p>\n

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