Texas Tech Basketball: 5 takeaways from 0-6 start to Big 12 play

AMES, IA - JANUARY 10: Head coach Mark Adams of the Texas Tech Red Raiders coaches from the bench in the first half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 10, 2023 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 84-50 over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

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Kerwin Walton Texas Tech Basketball (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

3. What looked like promising depth has deteriorated into a short bench

It’s the annual tradition when in conference play, coaches start to shorten their respective rotations to around 6-7 guys. But it looked as if Texas Tech Basketball was going to be an exception to the rule, considering the expectations many of them had.

Last night against Baylor, it was essentially a seven-man rotation, with Batcho and Kerwin Walton getting the main minutes. D’maurian Williams and Lamar Washington only played a few minutes with nothing of note. For Walton, he had a season-high 12 points off the bench on 4/6 shooting from deep in 23 minutes, his first double-digit game of the year. In the first five games in Big 12 play, the transfer from UNC played a combined 26 minutes and scored just nine points.

Texas Tech could use Walton’s shooting but it’s clear that Coach Mark Adams is trying to push the right buttons with the bench. The freshmen, including former top-40 prospect and reclass player Elijah Fisher, haven’t provided much of late. Forward KJ Allen likely won’t be playing much with the return of Aimaq and Williams, who averaged 14.5 ppg last season at Gardner-Webb, is scoring just 4.0 ppg in 11 mpg of action.

Even with Aimaq in the fold, the Red Raiders starting lineup isn’t good enough to win games in the Big 12. But which of the role players should get on the court more? The veteran Walton seems to be getting the latest shot, let’s see if something comes of it consistently.

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