Texas Tech basketball: Senior night provided unforgettable moments
The Texas Tech basketball team’s 70-51 win over Texas on Monday capped a 17-1 home record in United Supermarkets Arena and proved to be one of the most memorable senior nights in program history.
Monday night, the Texas Tech basketball program sent its four seniors out in style in the home finale. Norense Odiase, Brandone Francis, Matt Mooney and Tariq Owens have been integral in helping the Red Raiders climb to the top of the Big 12 standings ahead of Saturday’s regular season finale against Iowa State.
What makes this group of seniors unique is that none came to Lubbock together. Odiase is the only one of the four to sign with the Red Raiders out of high school. Meanwhile, Francis arrived as a transfer from Florida in 2016 after being a 4-star high school recruit. As for Mooney and Owens, they both played at two different schools before transferring to Lubbock as graduate transfers last summer.
Yet, there appears to be a unique bond between those four players that one might not expect from a group that has only played together for one season. Much of that must be attributed to Chris Beard and the culture he has established at Texas Tech.
"“I’ve said it many times, and it’s a not a clichè, I really mean it: one of the most important parts of college basketball is the seniors,” Beard said way back in September when his team began preseason practices. “The guys that have fought through it for four years and they get to that senior year and they’ve got special things they want to accomplish — both as a team and as individuals. … We’re looking forward to a great season led by these four guys in a lot of ways.”"
And in their final home game as Red Raiders, each senior (and junior walk-on Andrew Sorrells who is leaving the program to attend graduate school) gave Red Raider fans a special moment. Let’s take a look back at the magic each senior created in the big win over the Longhorns. On their own, any one of these moments would have been talked about for quite some time, but with all five happening on the same night, it proved to be one of the best nights ever in the U.S.A.