Week 8 Player of the Week: Mac McClung

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The 8th week of the Red Raider season concluded with a 1-1 split that the team is surely happy with. Losing at home to Baylor while still having to play them in Waco hurts, but the pain is quickly relieved by the third straight win in Austin & first-ever win against a top 5 opponent on the road. All in all, it was a strong week for the team where even in the loss to Baylor, they proved they have the ability to compete with the Bears after leading the game with just over seven minutes to go.

With strong performances from everyone in the rotation at given times, the clear star of the week was Big 12 Player of the Week, Mac McClung. McClung was responsible for 33% of the team’s points in the two games last week, posting his two highest-scoring games of the season.

Against Baylor, McClung was one of just two players who were able to crack double figures against the stingy defense of the undefeated Bears. In the Texas game, McClung nailed the game-winner in what could be his signature moment at Texas Tech. Bringing the ball all the way up the court, isolating, and sinking the bucket with just two seconds remaining.

He has quickly turned into the go-to man whenever the offense is in dire need of a bucket. Averaging nearly 20 points per game in Big 12 contests, McClung has taken the reins of Beard’s offense. Being the most consistent producer on that end of the floor, it’s safe to assume that the team goes as Mac does moving forward.

Unfortunately, Tech doesn’t take the court again until Monday the 25th in Morgantown versus West Virginia due to COVID measures within the TCU and Iowa State programs. Looking ahead to that week, Tech has another pair of tough games, this time both on the road. Their second matchup of the week is against LSU for the SEC/B12 challenge. LSU is currently second in their conference and has a 10-3 overall record. With just 12 games remaining, any given win or loss could be the difference between a two, three, or four seed come March for the Red Raiders.