Texas Tech basketball dominates Nebraska in Hall of Fame championship

The Texas Tech basketball team dominated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 70-52 Tuesday night in Kansas City to win the Hall of Fame Classic.

On Tuesday, for the second-consecutive night the Texas Tech basketball team faced an opponent many consider to be a potential second weekend team in the NCAA Tournament. And for the second-consecutive night, the Red Raiders took that team to the mat and tapped them out.

Chris Beard’s squad moved to 5-0 on the year and took home the Hall of Fame Classic championship with a suffocating 70-52 win over Nebraska one night after dismantling USC in much the same manner. Jarrett Culver led all scorers with 26 points to give him 44 in the two-night event helping him secure tournament MVP honors.

But the Lubbock native and his teammates once again found themselves in a big hole early. One night after facing a 13-point deficit in the first half, Tech trailed Nebraska 13-4 at the 15:47 mark.

But after a Chris Beard timeout, Tech would settle down on both ends of the floor. And by the 10:06 mark, the Red Raiders would take the lead on a Brandone Francis three-pointer. From that moment on, Nebraska would lead just once more as Tech ratcheted up their trademark defense.

Facing a Husker squad that averaged just under 90 points per game in its first four contests, the Red Raiders showed once again that defense can neutralize even the best offense. The Huskers shot just 35.4% from the field and 21.7% from three-point range while committing 14 turnovers.

It was the second high-flying opponent in two games to be grounded by the Red Raiders after Tech held USC to eight points below their season average of 86. And it was the second night that the Red Raiders rugged play frustrated their opponent to the point of drawing a technical foul.

After seeing his team called for an offensive foul right in front of his bench, Nebraska head coach Tim Miles was whistled for apparently making a comment that the officials did not appreciate. Davide Moretti would convert the two free throws to put the Red Raiders up 57-42 essentially ending any hopes of a Nebraska comeback.

With Culver driving to the rim at will and Matt Mooney (15 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists) making key players with the ball, the Red Raiders were in full control throughout the second half. After Mooney’s layup with 9:26 to play put Tech up by eleven, the lead would never drop below ten points again.

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The Huskers were led in scoring by senior forward Isaiah Copeland’s 20 points but unlike the Red Raiders, they did not get a big night form their best player. Senior guard James Palmer Jr., a preseason All-Big 10 player, was held to just 13 points after he picked up three early fouls.

Palmer entered the game averaging 17.7 points per game but he was neutralized almost all night by the Red Raiders. He shot just 5-13 from the field and most of his points came in garbage time after the Red Raiders had built their insurmountable lead.

Tech also had a huge advantage in points off the bench. Led by Brandone Francis’ 7 points, the Red Raider bench outscored the Husker bench 13-3 as only one Nebraska substitute hit a shot from the field.

After opening the season against three over-matched opponents, Tech headed to Kansas City to begin a 4-game stretch that would help Chris Beard and his coaching staff learn what they have in a team that is incorporating five newcomers . By knocking off the Trojans and Huskers, Tech now knows that it has an elite defensive team once again as it heads home to face Northern Colorado on Saturday before facing Memphis on December 1st.

"“Our team just continues to be a work in progress. Kind of a coaching cliche but so true,” Beard said after the game. “We challenged ourselves in a one-day prep to play what I think is an NCAA Tournament team in Nebraska, and we learned a lot about ourselves.”"

Now, it may be the nation that is going to learn about the Red Raiders as well. Tech entered the season picked 7th in the Big 12 preseason poll and in the most recent rankings, the Red Raiders received just eight votes coming nowhere close to the top 25.

But in a season that has already seen Baylor lose to Texas Southern, West Virginia lose to Buffalo and Western Kentucky, Oklahoma State lose to Charlotte and TCU lose to Lipscomb on Tuesday night, many may start to reconsider the Red Raiders place in the conference hierarchy.

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Of course, that will work itself out in January and February and for right now, there is plenty for Beard’s team to improve upon. But after beating two excellent teams in the Hall of Fame Classic, the Texas Tech basketball team has once again proven itself to be a national contender after winning an early season tournament for the second year in a row.

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