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Texas Tech basketball: Looking back at top 5 games of 2018-19

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first 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: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first 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 Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Texas Tech 75, Gonzaga 69

The best and most well-played game of the year was a classic matchup of the nation’s best defense against the nation’s best offense.  Ultimately, it was the defense of Texas Tech that held the top scoring team in the country, Gonzaga, under 70 points to advance to the Final Four.

This Elite 8 game turned in Tech’s favor when Beard decided to put Tariq Owens on 6-foot-8 Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, who had been torching the Red Raiders.  After the future NBA lottery pick scored 13 points in the first half, Tech had to find a way to slow him in the second and they used their most versatile defender to do so.

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To check Hachimura after the break, Beard turned to his 6-foot-10 defensive ace, who was Hachimura’s primary defender on 15 possessions in the second half.  On those possessions, the Zags’ leading scorer came up with just five points while Owens blocked three of his shots and drew a charge.

And it was Owens’ block of a Hachimura corner 3-ball and the subsequent save to retain possession (yes Tech caught a break on that play as Owens should have been called out of bounds on the save) that helped seal the game.  And when Gonzaga was called for a technical for contacting Mooney as he attempted to in-bound the ball in the final minute, the game was all but put to bed.

While Culver led the way with 19 points, he struggled going just 5-19.  But Davide Moretti came up with two clutch deep 3’s in the final minutes on his way to 13 points.  Meanwhile, the Tech bench outscored the Zags’ bench 14-3.

By beating the No. 1 seeded Bulldogs, Tech proved to be one of the best teams in the nation.  Many predicted Gonzaga would win the national title as the Zags had spent several weeks at No. 1 this season.  Therefore, its was far more satisfying to knock off one of the darlings of the sport to reach Minneapolis than to get to the Final Four by slaying a Cinderella.

And by finally reaching the tournament’s final weekend, Tech got the Final Four monkey off its back.  This was a huge win for not only the hoops team but the entire athletic program because it guaranteed Tech would finish in the top four nationally in basketball, football or baseball for the first time ever.

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Additionally, it was great to see Beard’s defense go up against a team that most thought to be unstoppable on offense.  In a world where basketball continues to more closely resemble a video game with constant 3-point shots and high-flying dunks getting all the attention, the Red Raiders made the college basketball world give some respect to good old-fashioned man-to-man defense.

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