Texas Tech basketball: Top 5 individual performances of 2018-19

No. 3: Brandone Francis’ 17 points in the national title game

In the biggest moments, coaches always say that they want their seniors to lead the way.  And that’s exactly what Brandone Francis did against Virginia in the National Title Game.

With 17 points, Francis tied his career-high to go along with four rebounds.  And the Red Raiders desperately needed everything they could get from their leading bench scorer.

That’s because their top three scorers, Culver, Moretti and Mooney, struggled to the tune of just 14-39 shooting.  That included a dreadful 5 for 18 from deep.

What’s more, Tariq Owens, who was severely limited by a high ankle sprain, was held to just three points.  That was his lowest scoring output of the NCAA Tournament and nearly six points below his season average.

But Francis helped pick up the slack twice helping the Red Raiders claw back from double digit deficits, once in each half.  He was decisive with his shot knocking down 3-7 from long-range while also displaying an aggressiveness with the ball as he drove to the rim more than we had seen all season.

It was a fitting way for the senior to end a collegiate career that was anything but normal.  After leaving Florida following his redshirt freshman season, the former top-100 recruit nearly did not make it in Lubbock as he struggled to conform to Chris BRead’s high standards on and off the court during the year he had to sit out after transferring to Tech.

But he persevered and became a key member of the Red Raider rotation.  And had Tech been able to close out Virginia and bring home the national title, his performance would have gone down in history as perhaps the greatest from any Red Raider not named Sherryl Swoopes.