Texas Tech basketball: Chris Beard’s most important regular-season wins

Beating West Virginia in the first top-10 showdown in the history of the U.S.A.

Just weeks after toppling KU, Tech had the opportunity to host the first-ever  top-10 matchup in the nearly two-decade history of the United Supermarkets Arena when the No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers came to face the No. 8 Red Raiders.  The game didn’t disappoint.

In Tech’s 72-71 win, Keenan Evans hit an off-balance jumper in the face of a defender inside the final minute to secure the win.  The senior guard continued to add to his legacy with 20 points.

However, it was an unlikely source that was the only other Red Raider in double digits.  Junior guard Brandone Francis set a career-high with 17 points off the bench in what was his first huge game as a Red Raider.   The transfer from Florida was 3-4 from deep and 5-6 from the floor overall.

The win gave West Virginia its first conference loss of the season and moved Tech into a first-place tie in the Big 12.  It was at the time the latest in a Big 12 season that Tech had been in first place.

This was also the first time that the Red Raiders had ever prevailed in a top-10 showdown.  A huge reason for the win was the free-throw line where Tech was 24-28 and outscored WVU by seven points.  As we’ve come to learn, getting the edge over a Bob Huggins team at the line is rare so when that happens, you have to make it count and that’s what Tech did.

The hype for this game was similar to an important conference football game.  Thus, the fact that Tech was able to capitalize on the national spotlight and the local intrigue and reward the home fans with a thrilling victory was yet another important brick in the foundation of the program that Beard has built.