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Texas Tech basketball: Hidden moments in Tech’s victory over UT

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Texas Tech Red Raiders fans (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Texas Tech Red Raiders fans (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Tech puts together 8-0 run near the end of the first half

The story of this game will forever be the difference in the two halves.  But in reality, Tech’s comeback began late in the first half when the Red Raiders put together an 8-0 run to keep the game from getting completely out of hand.

"“We were really fortunate to be down what we were at half,” Beard said.  “It felt like 20 but we chipped away.  We had a good end to the first half…Really just the emphasis to take care of the ball, let’s go get a shot every time down and quit handing it to the other team.”"

With 4:44 to go in the half, UT guard Andrew Jones drilled a 3-pointer to push his team’s lead to 27-11, the largest it would be all day.  But over the next two minutes and change, the Red Raiders put together their first stretch of offensive cohesion of the afternoon.

Fittingly, it began with a bucket that was nothing but grit and determination.  Fighting to corral a tough pass right below the rim, Terrence Shannon Jr. was able to muscle up a layup to give his team its first points in nearly four minutes of play.

On the next possession, Kevin McCullar missed a breakaway layup off a steal but Shannon was there to clean up the mess with a putback.  Then, another steal (this one by Chris Clarke) led to a third-straight Tech basket when the Red Raider senior backed a UT defender down in the paint for a short turnaround bucket.  Capping the run was a nice jumper by McCullar off the dribble.

Notice that all eight of Tech’s points in this spurt came at or near the rim rather than by virtue of outside jumpers.  Also, four of the points were the result of turnovers, something that had been the fuel for an earlier 14-2 Longhorn run that staked the home team to its lead.

It was in this stretch, which came with Jahmi’us Ramsey in the locker room due to a cut over his right eye, that started to turn the tide back in the Red Raiders’ direction.  Though Tech would give up four unanswered points to end the half, during this run it seemed like Beard’s team finally got back to playing basketball the way that it must in order to be a true contender once again and the way it had to play to get back into Saturday’s contest.

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