Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders pull out chaotic last-minute victory over Kansas State
Come Selection Sunday in March, we might well look back on Saturday's 60-59 Texas Tech basketball victory over Kansas State and point to the improbable last-minute win as one of the games that put the Red Raiders in the Big Dance. Overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit and clawing back after trailing 57-49 with just 3:21 to play, Grant McCasland's team played one of its worst games of the season in many regards and still found a way to come out on top.
A 20-0 KSU run to close the first half rocked the Red Raiders and forced them to chase the game for the entire second half. In fact, the Red Raiders didn't retake the lead until Joe Toussaint muscled in a tough layup amongst the trees while drawing a foul to put the Red Raiders up 60-59 with 7.7 seconds left to erase a two-point KSU advantage.
That's when the game would take an unforgettable turn. As the Wildcats ran their final play of regulation, one that resulted in a missed off-balance shot from their point guard, Tylor Perry, the game clock never started leading to an official review. Ultimately, it was determined that the preceeding action was enough to run out the remaining time and Tech was declared the winner in an ending unlike any we've seen at United Supermarkets Arena.
This was a game that the Red Raiders desperately needed to win given that three of the next four games on the schedule will be played away from Lubbock and against currently-ranked teams. Now, at 3-0 in Big 12 play, Tech has a bit of a margin for error over the next two weeks.
Of course, the Red Raiders will plan on winning each of the next four games, but the reality is that life in the Big 12 is going to deal them some losses as now, only two teams in the league (Tech and Baylor) remain undefeated in conference action.
Before we turn to the gauntlet that the next four games will be, though, let's dive into what we saw on Saturday in one of the more remarkable wins this program has managed to pull out in recent years. And we will start by examining an improbable stat that suggests KSU should have won this game.
Texas Tech wins despite being dominated from 3-point range
Kansas State has to be sick over losing this game. That's because they had an edge of 15 points from the 3-point line and still couldn't come up with the win.
Entering the game, KSU was second-to-last in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at just 30.6% as a team. Meanwhile, Tech ranked third at 36.8%.
That's why it was a shock to see KSU make 10 of its 23 (43.5%) shots from beyond the arc on the same day Tech would go just 5-25 (20%) from deep. Yet somehow, this game fell Tech's way.
Averaging just 7.4 made 3s per game, KSU far exceeded its usual output. That included a run of four-consecutive 3s in the first half to start the 20-0 run that would give the Cats their halftime edge.
Meanwhile, Tech averages 8.6 made threes. However, no Red Raider would hit more than one 3 on the day with three of the team's top shooters, Pop Isaacs, Chance McMillan, and Kerwin Walton each missing at least four attempts and going a combined 3-18.
Still, the Red Raiders overcame what was their worst shooting day of the year when playing a major-conference opponent. So how, did they do it? For starters, they put the clamps on KSu's hottest shooter in the second half.