Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech basketball: Bob Knight’s most memorable moments as a Red Raider

By Matthew Conner

Portrait of legendary basketball coach Bob Knight at Texas Tech on July 28, 2006.
Portrait of legendary basketball coach Bob Knight at Texas Tech on July 28, 2006. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 11
Next
Nov 20, 2006; Kansas City MO, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Bob Knight talks to guard (5) Benny Valentine against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half in the College Basketball Experience Classic Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO. Marquette won the game 87-72. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) 2006 John Rieger
Nov 20, 2006; Kansas City MO, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Bob Knight talks to guard (5) Benny Valentine against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half in the College Basketball Experience Classic Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO. Marquette won the game 87-72. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) 2006 John Rieger /

Texas Tech beats No. 17 OU in 2005 Big 12 Semifinals to get to first Big 12 Tournament final

Later that season, the Red Raiders managed to do something that no team in program history had.  Beating No. 17 Oklahoma 69-63 in a rugged back-and-forth contest, Knight took Tech to its first Big 12 Tournament Championship Game.

It was ironic given Knight’s disdain for conference tournaments in general.

"“There’s no greater opponent of postseason conference tournaments than I am, nor will there ever be,” Knight said after the game. “But it’s here to be played, and we played right from the very beginning.”"

That day, Texas Tech relied heavily on its dynamic backcourt of Ross and Jarrius Jackson.  Combining for 50 points (with 28 coming from Ross, the former walk-on from Hobbs, New Mexico), they accounted for 72.4% of their team’s scoring.

OU was the top seed in the tournament and managed to rally from an 11-point second-half deficit to push the Red Raiders to the brink.  But after the Sooners cut the Tech lead to just three points in the final minute, Tech would hit five of eight free throws down the stretch to hang on.

A night later, the Red Raiders would fall short of claiming the Big 12 Tournament Title.  Falling 72-68 to No. 10 Oklahoma State, they came up just shy of completing their improbable run in the tournament Knight wished they never had to play in the first place.

But regardless of how the head coach felt about the event, it proved to be one of his crowning moments as a Red Raider as he got the Red Raiders as close as they have ever been to claiming the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball