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Texas Tech secures massive win over No. 12 West Virginia

West Virginia v Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 29: Guard Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives against guard Jordan McCabe #5 of the West Virginina Mountaineers during the first half of the college basketball game at United Supermarkets Arena on January 29, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

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Texas Tech secured a massive win for its NCAA tournament profile on Wednesday night.

The Red Raiders helped their postseason situation immensely with an impressive 89-81 Big 12 home win over No. 12 West Virginia.

Facing the No. 1 defense in the country, Texas Tech’s offense had no issues shredding the Mountaineer defense. Shooting 54 percent from the floor and 64 percent from three-point range, the Red Raiders used a balanced offensive effort to counter the waves of bodies West Virginia throws at you on defense.

Davide Moretti (25 points), Terrence Shannon Jr. (23 points) and Jahmius Ramsey (21 points) all scored at least 20 points for Texas Tech. Although Texas Tech’s offense struggled with 22 turnovers -- a common issue when facing West Virginia -- they also had 17 assists and did a great job of spreading the ball around.

But for as good as this win was from a confidence-building perspective, this win is most important for Texas Tech’s NCAA tournament resume.

The national runner-ups from last season weren’t exactly in danger of missing the NCAA tournament given their current stature. The lack of Q1 wins, however, was starting to become a concern for Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders were 1-7 against Q1 opponents entering Wednesday night. And with only three total Q2/Q3 wins, the next two tiers weren’t looking promising either. That was part of the reason Texas Tech’s overtime home loss to Kentucky on Saturday was so crushing. It was a chance to gain a credible win that slipped away.

Now that Texas Tech knocked off West Virginia, they get a lot more breathing room. The Red Raiders are still lacking an ideal number of elite victories. They’ve also done a good job of avoiding landmine losses that might derail them. All seven of Texas Tech’s losses have come against Q1 teams.

With Texas Tech finally gaining a second Q1 win, with another shot at one against Kansas coming later this week, things are looking a lot more stable in Lubbock.