Texas Tech basketball classics: Daryl Dora; Red Raiders topple KU in double OT in 2005

This game was brilliantly played by both teams

Often times, upsets are not necessarily aesthetically appealing.  That’s because the underdogs typically try to muck things up so much that the game devolves into a bare-knuckle brawl.  That was what Tech did in the 2014 upset of Oklahoma State, which we recently re-lived.

But in this contest, the Red Raiders matched the Jayhawks blow-for-blow all night long in a game that saw both teams play at a high level from start to finish.  Both teams shot over 40% from the field and there were only 25 turnovers in the 50-minute game (only ten by the Red Raiders).

Another way that this upset was unusual was that the underdogs didn’t follow the typical upset script was that it was close all game long.  Time and again we’ve seen huge underdogs pull out improbable victories by jumping out to a huge lead and then hanging on for dear life after the favorites realize they can no longer afford to play with their food.  That was the case when the Red Raider football team upset No. 1 OU in Norman back in 2011.

However, in this game, the margin never grew to double-digits for either team.  What’s interesting though, is that for almost the entirety of the game, Tech had a one or two-score advantage as the lead didn’t change hands all that much for such a tight contest.

In fact, at the end of regulation and at the end of the first OT, the Red Raiders should have put this game to bed.  But the free-throw line almost did Knight’s team in.

With just 14.4 seconds to go in regulation, Tech led 68-67.  Freshman Martin Zeno was at the line with a chance to put KU in a huge bind by extending the lead to three points.  But he missed the second attempt allowing Kansas’ Keith Langford to tie the game with a driving layup with just 4.1 to play.  Obviously, the KU strategy at that juncture would have been vastly different had Tech been up by three instead of just two.

Then, at the end of the first OT, it was sophomore Darryl Dora at the line with a chance to put Tech ahead by three points.  But he also made just one of two free throws allowing KU to once again drive the ball to the rim, this time tieing the game at 74-74 on a tip-in of a missed layup.

But fortunately, Tech would redeem itself in the second OT.  And playing the role of the hero would be the man who had just come up short at the line.