Nick Kosmider

13 - 1:50am

Interim basketball coach has led team to 9-9 record through 18 games

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt on Tuesday said he believes interim basketball coach Chris Walker has done an “exceptional” job this season, but he did not indicate when a decision may come on Walker’s future with the program. Responding to an interview request to discuss Walker and the future of the basketball program, Hocutt said in a statement he is pleased with the work Walker has done.

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Texas Tech searching for better consistency on front line 01/28/13 - 10:46am

Chris Walker shouldn’t be blamed for getting a little greedy following Texas Tech’s 73-57 loss to Texas on Saturday. The Red Raiders coach had just watched Tech sophomore forward Jordan Tolbert (18 points and 13 rebounds) turn in his second strong performance in as many games, his hustle and energy pulling the visitors to within eight in the second half before Texas closed things out.

Texas earns first Big 12 win as Tech's woes in Austin continue 01/27/13 - 2:01pm

Longhorns took advantage of a punishing inside game and a flurry of Tech mistakes to earn a 73-57 win

AUSTIN — One painful streak was going to come to an end on Saturday inside the Frank Erwin Center, and young-but-talented Texas made sure its head-shaking rough stretch was the one that came tumbling down. The Longhorns took advantage of a punishing inside game and a flurry of Tech mistakes to earn a 73-57 win, their first in Big 12 Conference play this season after an 0-5 start. The Red Raiders, meanwhile, lost their 17th straight game in Austin and fell to 9-9 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 games.

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Two decades after memorable Big East battle, Walker and Barnes meet in key Lone Star showdown 01/26/13 - 4:32pm

Red Raiders searching for first win in Austin since 1996

Chris Walker has never coached against Rick Barnes, but the Texas Tech coach has already notched one memorable victory against his counterpart at Texas. Walker was a sophomore point guard at Villanova on Jan. 30, 1990, when Barnes, then the coach at Providence, brought the Friars into town for a Big East Conference showdown. Barnes liked what he saw in the first half, as Providence sprinted to a 20-point lead at halftime.

Clark and Connor Lammert, longtime teammates, meet as rivals when Tech visits Texas 01/26/13 - 4:30pm

Clark Lammert will have reason to give his younger brother, Connor, a hard time when the two meet before Texas Tech plays Texas at 7 p.m. today in Austin. After all, it might be a little weird for Clark to see his brother wearing the colors of the team the two used to beat up on all those years ago. “When we were tiny, we were both on a (YMCA) team called the Raptors,” said Connor, a freshman forward at Texas. “We used to always have this one team we played called the Longhorns. It’s kind of funny now.”

Big 12 power rankings: Kansas firm at top as the rest of the league heats up 01/25/13 - 1:44am

In this week’s Avalanche-Journal Big 12 power rankings: The Jayhawks continue to hum along, a tight battle emerges at the No. 2 spot and Texas Tech inches up the ladder. 1. Kansas (17-1, 5-0) Nothing to see here. Just the same boring, consistent excellence from Bill Self’s squad. Buoyed by a suffocating defense, the Jayhawks have ripped off 16 straight wins, the longest winning streak in the nation. If KU can protect home court against Oklahoma on Saturday, it could find itself ranked No. 1 in the country.

Kosmider: Impact of confidence-boosting win for Texas Tech could be far reaching 01/25/13 - 1:43am

Two days before Texas Tech’s biggest win in at least two years, Chris Walker began an address to his team by invoking a name synonymous with college basketball royalty. “I gave them (Duke coach) Mike Krzyzewski’s record his first three years in conference play,” the Tech coach said. “It was 6-8, 4-10 and 3-11. I said, ‘Did you guys know that?’ They said, ‘No.’”

Josh Gray takes over down the stretch as Texas Tech upsets Iowa State 01/24/13 - 2:14am

Freshman point guard hit a number of clutch shots to help Red Raiders surpass win total from last season

Josh Gray wouldn’t be denied. Texas Tech’s freshman point guard showed the clutch resolve usually reserved for players with far more experience, leading the Red Raiders to a thrilling, 56-51 victory Wednesday night against Iowa State. The first marquee win of the Chris Walker era broke a four-game losing streak and helped the Red Raiders (9-8, 2-4 in the Big 12 Conference) surpass their entire win total from a season ago.

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Shrinking 3-point gap focus for Texas Tech vs. Iowa State 01/23/13 - 11:40am

Red Raiders are aiming to improve struggling 3-point shooting, perimeter defense

Chris Walker is likely never going to be the coach who takes away his team’s green light from the 3-point line. After all, it was during his time as a point guard at Villanova in 1990 that Walker etched his name into the NCAA tournament record books by attempting 20 3-pointers in a game, still the second-highest total in history behind the 22 Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer attempted one year earlier. (For the record, Walker made six that day.)

Tech aiming to keep positive outlook amid disappointment of four-game losing streak 01/22/13 - 11:47am

Finding ways to solve second-half woes at the top of the priority list for the Red Raiders

Everybody you ask has their own idea of how to cure the hiccups. Hold your breath. Drink water upside down. Have someone scare the you-know-what out of you. More often than not, though, the best solution is to just ride them out. The Texas Tech basketball team is finding that out the hard way. Coach Chris Walker for the last two weeks had described his team’s 34-point loss to Baylor back on Jan. 8 as just that, a hiccup — an aberration. “I don’t even know who that team was,” he said often in the days following the game.

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