Texas Tech basketball: My favorite in-person memories as a Red Raider

Beating No. 2 West Virginia in 2018

I hate West Virginia and despite the fact that they are in the Big 12.  They made no sense as a new member back in 2012 and almost as soon as they were admitted, they started complaining about the way their schedules were put together.  Look, Mountaineers, you should have just been thankful that the Big 12 threw you a lifeline to get you out of the sinking Big East and not trying to make stipulations about how you want your schedule to be.

I also hate Bob Huggins.  He’s a joyless curmudgeon who bullies everyone in his path, including officials, and yet he is lauded as some fantastic figure in the coaching world.

So it was special for me to see the Red Raiders take down his best team ever at West Virginia when the No.  8 Red Raiders upended the No. 2 Mountaineers 72-71 in Lubbock in 2018.  The first-ever top-10 matchup inside the U.S.A. was also memorable for me because it was the first time I had seen the Red Raiders beat a top-5 team in person.

Every time a highly-ranked team came visiting when I was in college, the Red Raiders fell short.  Therefore, I wasn’t able to celebrate the type of upsets that are truly exhilarating.

While this win wasn’t a huge upset, it was thrilling because it confirmed that Chris Beard’s second team in Lubbock was a legitimate factor on the national scene.  Already having won at Kansas that season, this win was a second notification to the country that the Red Raiders were ready to be a factor like never before.

The game itself was gut-wrenching.  After trailing 38-31 at halftime, Tech was up 68-66 with just 42 seconds to play when Keenan Evans nailed a leaning, off-balance jumper with a defender draped all over him.  Staking Tech to a four-point lead, the best point guard in Tech history sealed what was the biggest win to that point in the history of the U.S.A. (at least in terms of how high the opponent was ranked).

Also standing out that day was Brandone Francis.  In his first huge game as a Red Raider, he had 17 points including three 3-pointers.

What also made this moment special for me was that it was part of the first season that my wife, who is an adopted Red Raider, was able to go to the games with me, and over the course of that season, she fell in love with Tech hoops as well.  That was the first truly euphoric Red Raider basketball moment she got to experience in person and it was one that we will not soon forget.