Wreck'Em Red
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How the Texas Tech basketball team beat Michigan State

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts in the second half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts in the second half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Tech’s bench came up huge again; outscored MSU bench by 10

In a 10-point win, it is not hard to look at the Red Raiders 15-5 advantage in bench scoring as a huge key.  Brandone Francis led the way with 9 points on 4-8 shooting while Kyler Edwards added six.

It was the most points Francis has scored since his 12 on senior night against Texas when his mom surprised him by coming to see him play for the first time in college.  And what made his performance so effective was that he did not just settle for 3-point shots.  In fact, six of his points came from inside the arc as he was able to get to the rim, which is something is not particularly known for.

Meanwhile, the MSU bench of Nick Ward and Gabe Brown gave Tom Izzo just five points (all from Ward) on 2-7 shooting.  The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Ward averaged 13.2 points per game this year but was a non-factor Saturday night.

Ward broke his hand in February and received a scare in MSU’s Sweet 16 win over LSU when he fell and tried to brace himself with that same hand.  And it is easy to see how that injury impacted his season as he did not reach double-digits in any game after suffering the injury on February 17th.

It is hard to know whether or not his hand was a factor Saturday.  But we do know that Ward certainly was not.  And because Tech was able to dominate the battle of the benches, they were able to dispatch the Spartans.

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