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No. 7 Texas Tech lost to Baylor, but did they lose Keenan Evans, too?

Texas  v Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 31: Keenan Evans #12 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to a basket during the game against the Texas Longhorns on January 31, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Texas 73-71 in overtime. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)

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Baylor won their fifth game in a row on Saturday night, 59-57.

They beat No. 7 Texas Tech in Waco.

Texas Tech is now stuck in a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas, blowing the one-game lead they entered the day with.

Baylor?

They’re probably going to the NCAA tournament.

But none of that is really the story of the night.

Because Keenan Evans, Texas Tech’s leading scorer and all-american point guard, did not play in the second half after suffering what head coach Chris Beard called a toe injury in the first half. He has not had x-rays on the toe yet -- there were no x-ray machines in the Ferrell Center -- but suffice to say that the Red Raider season hinges on what those results say.

Make no mistake: Evans could very well be a first-team all-american. Hell, if he returns healthy and Trae Young’s slide doesn’t stop, you can make a valid case that Evans should be the Big 12 Player of the Year come March. He’s a big shot maker and, as we saw down the stretch against Baylor, one of the only guys on this Texas Tech roster that can create a shot.

If he is out for any significant amount of time, it totally changes the trajectory of the Big 12 title race and the chances that the Red Raiders have at making a deep run into the NCAA tournament.

So here’s to hoping that Evans, a senior that has now played through two coaching regimes, can return healthy and reap the spoils of the work he’s put in by getting a chance to play his way to a Final Four in San Antonio.