Texas Tech basketball: Hidden moments that cost Tech the Kentucky game

As we wrap our coverage of the Texas Tech basketball team’s loss to Kentucky, it’s worth taking a look at the hidden moments that cost the Red Raiders what would have been a fantastic victory.

Any game is merely a collection of moments that when pieced together form a mosaic.  But often, we overlook the individual pieces because we are focused on framing the whole work.  And in a game like the Texas Tech basketball team lost on Saturday, there were dozens of moments that proved to be critical though, at the time they happened, we might not have thought so.

In the game, there were eight lead changes and eight ties.  Thus, the potential game-changing plays were plentiful.

"“I think there were times in the game where we were the most aggressive team and there were times when Kentucky was the most aggressive team,” Chris Beard said in the postgame press conference.  “Certainly, part of their DNA is rebounding, and it is a challenge for us playing right now but I think their ability to manufacture second shots on offensive rebounds was key to the game. I thought our guys fought, it wasn’t like we were trying to give them the offensive rebounds, we were scrapping and fighting but we had a couple of miss assignments that hurt us in big moments.”"

One factor that weighed heavily in Kentucky’s favor was the overall experience on the Wildcat roster.  The program that has become synonymous with the one-and-done players that have come to dominate big-time college basketball in the last decade is built around returning players this season and that helped give them a steely resolve Saturday night when playing in the most hostile of environments.

Of course, junior center Nick Richards was the star with 25 points and 14 rebounds. After hardly seeing the court in his first two years with the Wildcats, the 6-foot-11 native of Jamaica has blossomed into an All-SEC caliber player this season. Meanwhile, Nate Sestina had eight points off the bench as the lone senior to play for his team on Saturday.

"“In today’s college basketball, it’s just like society, nobody wants to hang in there,” Beard said.  “Everybody wants the quick fix. Those guys obviously have stayed the course. You can tell coach’s [Calipari] relationship with his point guard is different than it was last year. He’s a year older. They’re connected a lot better. I have a lot of respect for all of those guys, especially players who go to a program like a Kentucky or Texas Tech and stay the course. You take that coaching and you stay the course when your time comes. Everybody’s gotta run their own race. A lot of times at Kentucky a player’s race is one-and-done but not always. I have a lot of respect for those players no doubt.”"

Meanwhile, Tech’s most experienced players, its two seniors, did not have the same type of impact as Kentucky’s two upperclassmen.  Between them, T.J. Holyfield and Chris Clarke combined for only 13 points on 4-10 shooting.

Kentucky’s head coach was also cognizant of the fact that he had a go-to upperclassman who helped carry his team in the clutch.  After all, that’s not something he’s been able to rely on all that often in his time in Lexington given the way that his stars typically head to the NBA after just one year.

"“Now we have a 7-footer,” Calipari said.  “How many guys have 7-footers that can do what that kid does? Not many.”"

Tech has it’s own 7-footer but Russell Tchewa is just a true freshman.  And though he played well in his five minutes on the floor, he has a long way to go to become a difference-maker the likes of Richards.

In all, it still feels this entire team has a way to go in learning how to come up big in critical moments.  That’s the sign of a team that is both young and revamped.

None of the current Red Raiders have ever been go-to players at the collegiate level.  The freshmen are still feeling their way through the Big 12 while the two seniors were not the primary creators for their previous teams.  Additionally, the only two returners from last year’s regular rotation, Kyler Edwards and Davide Moretti, are adjusting to life as their team’s best players rather than as complementary role players to guys like Jarrett Culver and Keenan Evans.

But at some point soon, Tech is going to have to find this year’s William Wallace or else risk missing out on the NCAA Tournament altogether.  That’s because the Kentucky game likely won’t be this season’s last tooth and nail battle and if moments like the ones that follow don’t start going Tech’s way, the potential that this roster has will be unrealized.

So let’s look at the hidden moments that proved to be unexpected turning points in this game.  While we all remember the Davide Moretti missed free throw at the end of regulation and his turnover on the final possession of OT, these more subtle moments proved to be just as impactful