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Counting down the top 10 Texas Tech sports moments of 2019

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots the ball in 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: Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots the ball in 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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No. 1: Beating Michigan State

Getting to the Final Four was a monumental accomplishment for Beard’s program.  But the never-satisfied head coach did not shy away from his intention to cut down the nets in Minneapolis.

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His team gave him a shot at doing so by taking down Michigan State, another No. 1 seed, on April 6th.  In the 61-51 slugfest, Tech got 22 huge points from Matt Mooney including a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the second half to help open up a 13-point lead.

But the Spartans slowly crawled back into the game, mostly at the free-throw line.  And by the 1:32 mark of the second half, the lead was just 55-51.

That’s when Culver, who was just 3-12 overall on the night, nailed a cold-blooded three-pointer from the top of the key to essentially seal the game.  Though it wasn’t Culver’s finest game, it was his finest singular moment for his hometown team.

Still, the story of this game was Mooney, the grad transfer from South Dakota who came to Tech so that he could have a shot at playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.  When that opportunity arrived, he made the most of it.

Scoring in double-digits in five of six tournament games, Mooney also had 17 points against Gonzaga the previous game.  Thus, he and Owens became the poster children for the trendy new college basketball grad transfer portal, which is revolutionizing the game.

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As for Red Raider fans, not only was it was thrilling to see our team on the grandest of stages, it was more than we could have imagined seeing them come up with a huge win.  Of course, we were thrilled to see the Red Raiders simply get to the Final Four for the first time, but it meant so much more for us to have the lasting memory of CBS’s legendary broadcaster Jim Nance calling a Texas Tech victory on the final weekend of the tournament.  It was a moment that none of us will soon forget and the top moment of 2019.

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