Texas Tech basketball: How the Red Raiders were able to beat UT

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Jan 13, 2021, Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Matt Coleman III (2) shoot and scores against Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Kevin McCullar (15) and Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Marcus Santos-Silva (14) in the first half during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Mandatory credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell /American-Statesman via USA TODAY Network /

The Red Raiders won the rebounding battle in the second half

Along with UT’s hot shooting to open the game, their rebounding in the first half was also a reason they controlled the action early. But after the break, Tech was the better rebounding team, something that seemed unfathomable in the first half.

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The Red Raiders held a 22-18 advantage on the glass in the second 20 minutes. That included a 6-5 edge in offensive rebounds.

What made that surprising was the fact that Marcus Santos-Silva fouled out with several minutes left to play and saw only 13:04 of action in that half. And instead of putting Tyreek Smith into the game, Beard went with 6-foot-7 wings Micah Peavy and Shannon as the tallest players in his lineup. But somehow, he got away with it.

Jericho Sims, UT’s 6-foot10, 245-pound monster inside, had just three boards in the second half. Though that total actually surpassed the number he grabbed in the first half, it was a surprisingly low number given how he controlled the game on the boards early by keeping balls alive and keeping Tech from grabbing rebounds.

Not surprisingly, Kevin McCullar was Tech’s rebounding champion in the second half as he pulled down six. Ending the game with eight boards, he’s now averaging 8.6 per game in his last three outings.

In the end, Tech simply competed harder on the glass after halftime and it paid huge dividends. It was yet another reason why Mac McClung was even in a position to be the hero on Tech’s final possession and one of the main reasons why the Red Raiders pulled out a win that seemed rather improbable for most of the evening.

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