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Texas Tech basketball: The top 25 Red Raiders in the Big 12 era

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates the play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates the play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 30: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates after a play against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 30: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates after a play against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

No. 8: Davide Moretti

Every basketball fan loves the 3-point sniper.  That’s why Davide Moretti will always be a Texas Tech basketball fan-favorite.

Finishing his career as a 40% shooter from deep, Moretti wound up just 31 points shy of being the 43rd member of the 1,000-point club at Tech.  But his career will be remembered for all the big plays he made as part of Tech’s Elite Eight team in 2018 and Final Four team in 2019.

His defining moment was a stretch against Gonzaga in the 2019 Elite Eight where he drilled a pair of deep 3-pointers in the second half to help the Red Raiders keep their grip on the lead late in the contest.  That was one of five NCAA Tournament games that year in which the sharpshooter scored in double digits.

Despite foregoing his senior year to play professionally in his native Italy, he still ranks 9th in Tech history with 166 career 3-point buckets.  What’s more, his 94 career 3’s in Big 12 play are the sixth-most by any Red Raider.

Moretti is also the all-time leader in Tech history with a 90.6% career free-throw success rate.  But he’s only no. 2 in Big 12 play at Tech with an 89.4% rate.

There was a time during his freshman year when fans weren’t quite so fond of the 6-foot-3 guard.  He struggled mightily in Big 12 play that season on his way to just 3.5 points per game for the season.

But as a sophomore, Moretti took a huge step forward.  He wound up the second-leading scorer on Tech’s Final Four team at 11.5 p.p.g. while also handing out 2.4 assists.  It was a massive jump from year one to year two and that’s one of the reasons Tech fans now think that every sophomore that comes through the program is in for a significant second-season bump in productivity.

We all wish Moretti were still a Red Raider this year.  His 3-point prowess has been missed early in this season.  And while he will go down as being in the conversation for best pure shooters in Tech history, the only thing higher than his free-throw percentage while at Tech may have been his popularity among fans.

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