Texas Tech Men’s Basketball Week 2 Player of the Week: Kyler Edwards

Photo cc: John E. Moore III/Getty Images

Texas Tech took care of business in their second week of the season, beating both Troy and Grambling State handily. Troy was a late addition to the schedule after Big East/Big 12 Challenge opponent St. John’s made the decision to not travel down to Lubbock due to concerns about Covid-19. Tech cruised to victory against the Trojans, leading by 20 just 11 minutes into the contest. On Sunday, the Red Raider offense was ice cold to begin the contest and led by just five points 15 minutes into the game. However, Chris Beard did what he does best and made the adjustments necessary at halftime to fuel a 48-21 second half in Tech’s favor.

As hard as it is to look past Mac McClung’s 20 point night on 8-13 shooting including 4-8 from beyond the arc against Troy, this week’s player of the week goes to Kyler Edwards. In the first three games of the year, Edwards struggled at times offensively and looked hesitant in his decision making. He shot 35% from the field in the first three games and just 25% from three for a total of 24 points. In the last two games, Kyler totaled 27 points and increased his shooting percentages to 57% overall & 60% from deep. Aside from the raw numbers, his presence on the court was felt much more both on offense and defense this week. He has a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio thus far & posted a double-double in Sunday’s game vs Grambling State with 13 points and 11 rebounds. His performance was strong enough to garner the attention of The Naismith Trophy Award on Twitter.

Up next, Texas Tech plays its last two games before Big 12 play gets started. Abilene Christian makes the trip to Lubbock on Wednesday and then the Red Raiders meet Texas A&M Corpus Christi Saturday in Frisco. ACU is sporting a perfect 5-0 record heading into the contest Wednesday, while TAMCC has started their year 1-3. With Kansas headed to the USA in less than two weeks, these next two games will be important for the team to keep the momentum rolling and continue becoming more comfortable with each other on the floor. Beard will surely get a better idea of what the rotation will look like come conference play over the next two games. Kevin McCullar has still yet to step on the court this year but is likely to be seen in the next few games. He will be a welcome addition to the group, only helping the KenPom #1 ranked Adjusted Defense through 5 games.