BY JEFF WALKER l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Heading into the final week of the regular season, Texas Tech still has something to play for, though probably not what the coaches and players had hoped.

Sure, the Red Raiders want to stop a six-game losing streak. And, they’d like to get a couple of more wins before the Big 12 tournament begins March 11 in Oklahoma City.

With Kansas coming to the United Spirit Arena on Wednesday, and then traveling to Iowa State for the regular-season finale on Saturday, Tech can’t get better than a 10th seed for the conference tournament.

Oklahoma's Taylor Griffin shoots ahead of Texas Tech's Corbin Ray during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Zach Long,Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Still, following Saturday’s 78-63 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma, Tech head coach Pat Knight continued to echo what he and the players have been saying for weeks — this team will not give up.

“They’re giving me everything they can. It’s tough, you don’t want to talk about moral victories, you’d rather have victories on your record. These kids haven’t quit,” Knight said.

“I’ve had five people come up to me this week after watching practice and say, ‘Geez, the enthusiasm is there.’ We’re just coming up short. We just don’t have enough right now. These kids are giving everything they’ve got. We’ve got two more games, we’ve got the Big 12 tournament. We’re enjoying being around each other. I enjoy coaching this team. We’ll just play it out and see.”

If the season ended today, the Red Raiders would be the 11th seed and they’d face Oklahoma State in the first round of the tournament.

Wednesday’s game doesn’t mean as much, though, as Saturday’s. Assuming the Cyclones lose at Nebraska on Wednesday — Iowa State hasn’t won a Big 12 road game this season — Tech’s outcome against the Jayhawks won’t matter. Win or lose, the 10th seed will be awarded to the winner of Saturday’s game in Ames.

If Tech has anything going for it in the midst of this losing season, it’s that others are noticing improvement.

While sitting at 12-17, 2-12 in the Big 12 Conference, Tech has been competitive in many games this season, particularly of late.

“It seems like in watching them on tape, and especially for this game, coming into this game they had been playing really well,” Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel said. “They just hadn’t been able to close the deal. Sometimes you go through a season like that. I think it’s indicative that they are a really young time. These young guys are going through the experiences and you have to find a way, you have to learn how to win, how to close games out. They continue to play hard, and that’s a testament to their players and to Pat and their coaching staff. I think they’re a lot better than their record.”

As Knight said, and most fans will attest, moral victories aren’t high on the list of goals for players, coaches or fans. So, heading into the final week, what can this Tech team accomplish?

Beating a ranked team.

This has been accomplished every season under the current coaching staff. The Red Raiders were competitive in games this season against ranked teams like Pittsburgh, Baylor (when the Bears were ranked), Missouri, Texas (in Austin) and Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.
The Jayhawks probably will be ranked higher than their current No. 15 when they come to Lubbock.

Win a road game.

Tech is 0-7 in the Big 12, 0-9 overall in true road games. Colorado is the only other Big 12 team without a road win this season.

“I’d like to give these seniors something to remember,” Knight said. “There’s still a couple games left. I want to give them some kind of good taste in their mouth before they leave.”

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