Texas Tech basketball: Hidden moments in Red Raiders win over Sooners

Peavy steal leads to a Shannon layup

One of Chris Beard’s favorite sayings is that good things happen to the first player to the floor.  Freshman Micah Peavy proved that to be true when he dove on the floor to knock a loose ball away from OU’s point guard Austin Reaves with 12:56 to play in the game.

In the ensuing scramble, Shannon was able to collect the ball and take it to the rim where he would make a tough layup.  In fact, Shannon should have drawn an and-one foul as he hit that shot but on a night when the officiating was completely abysmal, no call was made.

This play epitomizes what Beard wants Texas Tech basketball to be.  It was a play that “street dogs” make.

At the time, OU was in the midst of a 7-0 run to cut Tech’s lead to just 46-45.  What’s more, Tech hadn’t scored since the 18:06 mark of the second half.

Big 12 basketball is often gritty and dirty.  It is rarely pretty.  So players have to be willing to scuff up their knees and earn a few floor burns if they want to win.

Thus, it was encouraging to see Peavy display that type of attitude on this play.  It was a huge moment in the game as Tech finally got back on the scoreboard and one possession later, Tech would score three more points on a layup and free throw from Shannon who was able to draw the foul on his second of back-to-back layups.  And it all started because Peavy was willing to be the first player to the floor.