Texas Tech basketball: Brandone Francis’ 5 best games as a Red Raider

17 points in the National Title game

If only…If only Tech had come up with one last stop.  If only Tech had made one more bucket.  If only one controversial call had gone Tech’s way.  If only one of these would have happened, Brandon Francis would likely have gone down in Red Raider history as an all-time legend.

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That’s because in the biggest moment in program history, the player who averaged just 4.7 points in his collegiate career tied a career-high with 17 points.  And being as the team’s leading scorers, Jarrett Culver and Matt Mooney struggled against Virginia, Tech desperately needed someone to step up and fill the void.

Francis was that man hitting 7-12 shots while Culver and Mooney combined to hit just 9-31.  Francis was also 3-7 from deep, equaling Davide Moretti for the team lead in most makes from behind the arc.

Though Francis’ performance will not take on legendary status because of the game’s outcome, it is worth appreciating what he accomplished.  Saving his best game for his final outing as a Red Raider, Francis never came closer to living up to his billing as a former 4-star prospect and top-50 recruit in the nation.

Throughout his career, Francis often seemed content to just be a spot-up shooter.  But in the most important of contests, he was aggressive with the ball and took the fight to a rugged UVA defense.  When Tech was stunned by a slow start and facing a 9-point deficit in the first half, Francis made a 3-pointer, his team’s first made field goal, to snap his team out of its funk as Tech drilled four 3’s in the span of two minutes to tie the game.

And as the game continued, Francis was the steadying had that Chris Beard came to rely on in his 37 minutes of action.  That is not a role he played too often in his career but when needed, he was up to the task.

Maybe it should not surprise us that Brandone Francis showed as much fight as any Red Raider in the National Title Game.  After all, the adversity of being down by a few buckets to Virginia was nothing compared to the adversity he had overcome just to get to that point.