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

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 Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Matt Mooney drops 22 points on Michigan State in the Final Four

When Matt Mooney committed to Texas Tech, he said that he did so because he wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament.  Not only did he get that opportunity this year, he got to live out every college basketball player’s dream and play in the Final Four.

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And Mooney made the most of his opportunity to show out on the game’s biggest stage.  With 22 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in a 61-51 win over Michigan State, the grad transfer from South Dakota by way of Air Force and Chicago carved his name in the history of Red Raider hoops.

This year, other players had higher point totals and filled the box score with more numbers but when you consider that Mooney scored 36% of his team’s 61 points against an elite defensive team in the Final Four, it is hard to argue that any Red Raider has had a better performance in program history.

And Mooney was not only prolific, he was clutch.  His three second-half 3 pointers in the span of three minutes propelled Tech to a 13-point lead after what had been a bare-knuckle brawl for most of the night and at a time when his team’s seemed to had no other answers on offense.

For the game, Mooney was 8-16 overall and 4-8 from deep.  He shot 50% from the field while the rest of his team was just 40% and made only six more shots as a group than Mooney did by himself.

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On a night when Culver and Moretti were just a combined 5-18 from the field, Tech desperately needed Mooney’s offense.  Facing off against MSU point guard Cassius Winston, who most considered the best point guard in the nation, Matt Mooney stole the show and provided the Red Raiders with one of the most legendary performances in program history.

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