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Texas Tech was sent packing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by eventual Final Four team North Carolina State last season.

Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland is expecting a longer stay this year, and the journey begins when third-seeded Texas Tech (25-8) faces 14th-seeded UNC Wilmington (27-7) in Midwest Region play on Thursday night at Wichita, Kan.

The Red Raiders are led by Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, while McCasland said his team’s chemistry is top-notch.

“With this group, I think there is a real urgency to want to play together as long as we can,” McCasland said. “They really do love each other. It’s genuine. I think that is a big part of winning and competing this time of year. You have to be more unselfish than you’ve ever been. More humble than you’ve ever been.

“I think there has to be a realness to do whatever you need to do to get it done. Every game will be different and this first game will take everything we have to win.”

Toppin transferred from New Mexico and added a needed element to the Raiders, posting averages of 18.1 points and 9.2 rebounds.

His talents might be needed even more than usual this week after Texas Tech’s second- and third-leading scorers were injured during last week’s Big 12 tournament.

Darrion Williams (14.3 points per game) injured a foot and Chance McMillian (14.2 ppg, team-best 69 3-pointers) sustained an upper-body injury during the quarterfinal victory over Baylor. Both players sat out the semifinal loss to Arizona on Friday.

McCasland is still in wait-and-see mode but remains hopeful that both players will be ready against UNC Wilmington.

Of course, he doesn’t want to enter an NCAA Tournament game shy on depth. Even more so against the Seahawks, who impress him.

“They are tough and physical,” McCasland said of UNC Wilmington. “They play hard. Tons of respect for them. We know what this is. When you make it to the tournament you are playing a great team. We’re looking forward to this first round.”

The Seahawks are part of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since making the field in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. They are 1-6 all-time with the victory coming over Southern California 93-89 in overtime in 2002.

UNC Wilmington qualified for this season’s tournament by winning the Coastal Athletic Association tournament.

“We’re happy to be here for sure but we want to win some games in the tournament,” Seahawks coach Takayo Siddle said.

UNC Wilmington played then-No. 1 Kansas in mid-November and lost 84-66. The Seahawks didn’t play any other power conference schools.

So it’s a step up in competition for UNC Wilmington and Siddle can see that the Red Raiders are both talented and relentless.

“They play extremely hard,” Siddle said of Texas Tech. “They are one of the hardest playing teams in the country. That will be the first order of business to get our guys to understand that. It will be a very challenging game for us and I think it will be a challenge that we’re up for.”

Wilmington’s top player is Donovan Newby, who has scored 20 or more points eight times and was the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA tourney.

Newby leads the Seahawks in scoring (14.6 average), assists (3.5) and 3-pointers (75 total). Wilmington has five players with 30 or more treys.

This is the second meeting between the teams. Texas Tech posted an 85-76 home win in the 2002 season opener for both teams.

The winner of this game will play either No. 6 Missouri or No. 11 Drake in Saturday’s second round.

–Field Level Media