Texas Tech basketball: Turning points in Red Raiders upset of No. 1 Cardinals

Clarke’s 3 with 8:09 to go beats the shot clock

Though the Cardinals never led in the second half, they closed the gap to just 48-44 with 8:43 left.  That’s an eternity in a basketball game.

After a Malik Williams jumper for the Cards, Tech had an awful offensive possession that saw Clarke looking rather uncertain of himself with the ball in his hands as the shot clock dwindled.  That scenario has been too common in this young season, especially during the 3-game losing skid.

Fortunately, this instance ended well when Clarke almost nonchalantly drained a rainbow 3-pointer to put Tech up 51-44 and take quite a bit of air out of the Louisville balloon.  That was an improbable shot from a player who is just a career 32.3% shooter from deep.

It was only the second 3-pointer of the year from Clarke who is about as reluctant of a shooter as any guard we’ve ever seen.  But his timely make helped prevent Louisville from having an opportunity to close the game to a one-possession margin as it ended a 6-0 Cardinal run.

Sometimes players have to make plays outside of what they are accustomed to in order for their team to win big games.  That’s what Clarke did when he bailed his team out by draining a deep bomb to beat the shot clock and keep the Cards at bay.