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Texas Tech basketball classics: Red Raiders shatter Tar Heels in 1996 Tourney

By Matthew Conner

17 Mar 1996: Darvin Ham of the Texas Tech Red Raiders halted the NCAA East Regional Tournament game in the first half with a backboard shattering dunk at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The Red Raiders went on to defeat the Tar Heels 92-73
17 Mar 1996: Darvin Ham of the Texas Tech Red Raiders halted the NCAA East Regional Tournament game in the first half with a backboard shattering dunk at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The Red Raiders went on to defeat the Tar Heels 92-73 /
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Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach James Dickey Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach James Dickey Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /

Tech dominated the game from 3-point range and on the glass

Watching this game, it was hard not to notice how much it resembled a game from this past season.  That’s because three-point shooting and rebounding were what told the difference as was so often the case for the 2019-20 Red Raiders.

That year, the Red Raiders were one of the most free-shooting teams in the nation from behind the arc. They finished the year having attempted 714 threes (10th in the country) and making 251 (14th-most overall).  In fact, the ’95-’96 team attempted 83 more three-pointers and made 27 more than this year’s Red Raiders did while playing just one more game.

As a team, they shot 35.2% on the year but against UNC, they blew that number away.  That day in Richmond, Tech was 12-26 from deep (46.2%) and that was what allowed them to pull away from the Tar Heels.

In fact, on the way to a 44-32 halftime lead, Tech got four 3-pointers from guard Corey Carr in the first 20 minutes.  In fact, the last five Red Raider baskets of the half came from deep, including three-straight from Carr, who hit one with just seconds remaining in the first half and when Calabria’s attempted three-pointer on the other end of the floor was ruled to come after the buzzer, Tech went to the break with all the momentum.

In the second half, Tech stormed out to an 8-2 run before the first timeout and the blowout was on.  But just as impressive as the offense was Tech’s defense.

This Red Raider team put tremendous pressure on the ball with its guards knowing that center Tony Battie and forward Darvin Ham were able to protect the rim.

In this game, UNC wanted to slow the pace and use its height advantage to neutralize the Red Raiders athleticism.  That didn’t work because though the Heels shot 51.3% on two-point shots, by shooting 7-26 from three-point range, they couldn’t keep pace with the hot-shooting Red Raiders.

What’s more, Tech owned a seven-point edge on the glass, which was not nearly indicative of how well Tech dominated the glass as many of UNC’s rebounds came after the game was out of hand.  In fact, a huge component of Tech’s first-half run that put them up 12 at halftime was an ability to keep UNC from grabbing offensive rebounds.

Also, Tech was able to limit Jamison to just four second-half points after he had 12 on 5-5 shooting in the first half.  What’s more, Battie dominated the battle of star centers as he outscored Zwikker 16-2.

Battie even hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the game, just his fouth made three of the season.  That was a good omen for the Red Raiders as it foretold the 3-point barrage would carry the program to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the field had expanded to 64 teams.

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