Texas Tech basketball: The one area where Chris Beard has struggled since taking over

Beard’s first year was as packed with close losses as the current season has been

Though the expectations for this program were not as high when Beard arrived in 2016 as they were heading into this season, don’t forget that he did take over a team that was coming off an NCAA Tournament birth and given that virtually all of the key contributors to that team were set to return, there were some who expected a return to the Big Dance.  But that didn’t happen and the main reason was that Tech was just 3-7 in games that were within three points in the final 30 seconds or that went to overtime.

Beard’s first loss as Red Raider head coach came against Auburn.  In the 67-65 loss in Cancun, Mexico, Aaron Ross had a layup blocked and Zach Smith launched a desperation 3-pointer over the backboard on the final possession of the game as a fierce second-half comeback fell just short.

Later that year, in a 65-61 loss at No. 5 Baylor, Keenan Evans had the ball with a shot to potentially to or even win the game with four seconds to play.  However, he had the ball temporarily knocked away as he tried to make a move to the basket and then, after he corralled the ball, his desperation 3-pointer was blocked, allowing the Bears to escape.

Later that year, Tech fell 62-58 in Austin to a Texas team that entered the game just 9-12 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play.  After Texas took a 61-58 lead, Anthony Livingston missed a 3 that could have tied the game with eight seconds on the clock.

A few games later, when Tech dropped an 80-79 home game to No. 3 Kansas, the final minute was a disaster.  After knotting the game at 79-all, Tech committed three fouls, turned the ball over once, and missed two three-pointers in the last 59 seconds.  Why that team decided to attempt two contested shots from behind the arc when trailing by only one point remains hard to understand and was a huge reason the upset bid fell agonizingly short.

Two games later, the Red Raiders dropped an 83-74 game at West Virginia that needed two overtimes to settle.  That day, Evans did come up big at the end of regulation by hitting a three to even the score at 64 with just eight seconds to play.  But he was unable to win the game at the end of the first OT by hitting a jumper at the buzzer and in the second OT, Tech simply ran out of gas.

Returning home for their next contest, Beard and his team again came up short in the clutch.  In an 82-80 loss to Iowa State, Tech couldn’t even get a shot off after rebounding a missed Cyclone free throw with 6.7 seconds to play.  Advancing the ball to their end of the floor, the Red Raiders made one too many passes allowing the clock to expire before even getting putting the ball up leaving the home crowd stunned.

That year, the Red Raiders were looking for new leaders to emerge and were still defining their roles as individuals under their new coaching staff.  That’s a huge reason why so many close games went awry in the closing moments but fortunately, that aspect of the game improved a  year later in a season in which Tech would ultimately make program history.