Texas Tech Basketball: Keenan Evans can carve his name into Red Raiders history

Keenan Evans has led Texas Tech all year-long in what is one of the best seasons in Red Raider’s history. One more win will put him among the all-time greats with the school.

When the 2017-18 season started for the Big 12 basketball conference, there were a few senior point guards that already garnered national attention. Devonte’ Graham, Jevon Carter, and Manu Lecomte were household names coming in, looking to have a big final year.

One name down the line that was little known outside of Lubbock, Texas was Keenan Evans, who had a solid junior campaign himself yet didn’t get much respect. And considering the amount of talent within the league this year, it wasn’t likely that he was gonna be the top guard.

But clearly, the senior guard had other plans, changing his offensive game from being a shooter to an outstanding slasher in the paint. His overall average has gone up just a couple of points but led Texas Tech in scoring during their seven-game win streak in the middle of the season at 24.6 ppg.

He suffered a nagging toe injury, which hampered his ability to play and guard, thus the Red Raiders went on a losing streak towards the end of the regular season.

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But Evans has since gotten healthy and back to normal, averaging 21.2 ppg in his last five, including scoring 45 points in the team’s first two games of the NCAA Tournament. He was paramount in the Red Raider’s wins over Stephen F. Austin and Florida, especially in the second half.

Texas Tech is now in the Sweet Sixteen for the sixth time in school history. However, this is the peak for the basketball program, even in the Bobby Knight era. This is a football-based school with little history to speak of on the hoops side.

But now Evans and Texas Tech have a chance to make history this season, by capturing the program’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance. It’ll be up against Purdue, who will likely be playing without their second-leading scorer. It’s a tough game, but certainly doable.

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Texas Tech had a shot at history earlier this year when they could’ve beat Kansas to get a late lead in the Big 12 title race. Evans was hurt then, but is 100% now, and gets his shot at leaving a historic mark for the Red Raiders.

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