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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The majority of the Texas Tech basketball team's season came be summed up in one word: drama.
Even in a campaign where the ninth-ranked Red Raiders set a new program record for 30-point wins in a season during Big 12 Conference play, they've also had their fair share of close calls. They were one stop or one free throw away from beating Iowa State twice. A couple of healthy bodies away from beating Houston a second time. A made 3-pointer here or there from winning the game at TCU.
Thursday night's quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament marked Texas Tech's 32nd game of the season. It also wound up being the 13th game decided by less than 10 points.
All seven of Tech's losses this year have been single-digit affairs. More often than not, the Red Raiders have been able to pull away from the opposition in late-game situations. Putting away a Baylor team playing with its March Madness chances on life support entering the week proved a much tougher challenge.
It became even more challenging as the game progressed. Chance McMillian left the first half with an upper body strain and did not return. Darrion Williams checked out several times to continue nursing his ailing right leg, which has bothered him the last few weeks.
Williams did his best to gut it out, but he didn't have enough lift to knock down his jumpers in the second half. Baylor cut what was a 15-point deficit to just two with 12 seconds left, but couldn't pull closer as Texas Tech survived the late scare in a 76-74 triumph.
The second half was hardly the prettiest basketball Texas Tech (25-7) has played this season. The Red Raiders scored just 24 points over the final 20 minutes. After hitting 12 of their 19 3-point attempts in the first half, they went just 3-of-15 in the second.
What ultimately won the game was keeping Baylor off the scoreboard as much as it could.
WHAT WE KNOW: Chance McMillian injury update: Texas Tech basketball player exits in first half vs Baylor
"You get hot sometimes," Elijah Hawkins (12 points, 11 assists) said. "It's not gonna be the whole game. It's gonna cool off at some point, but it just comes down to defense. I feel like we didn't get enough stops in the second half, well, the first half, either. But when our scoring stopped, we really had to lock in at the end of the game and get stops, just grind it out and just try to stay in the lead.
"We've been in a lot of games like that before, so it was one of those games. Just had to grind it out at the end."
Texas Tech improved to 6-7 in games decided by less than 10 points. And more close contests are to be expected as the Red Raiders try to make a deep run throughout March, be it the Big 12 or NCAA Tournament.
"Tournament time, honestly, you don't get pretty points for winning," head coach Grant McCasland said. "You win and find a way to move on."
McCasland said he told his team with about four minutes left they had scored enough points to win, they just had to come up with the stops to make the lead stick. The Red Raiders led 72-67 with 3:42 left, and Tech needed only four more points — two free throws each from Kevin Overton and Hawkins — to seal the game. Baylor made three shots in the final 30 seconds but, VJ Edgecombe's last-second running floater was off the mark.
Some of the late-game defense came from JT Toppin (26 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks). Baylor's Norchad Omier took it to Toppin in the post throughout the game, getting the better of most exchanges. Late in the game, though, Toppin found a way to keep Omier (29 points, 15 rebounds) from getting his points in crunch time.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Texas Tech basketball vs. Baylor: Red Raiders survive Bears, advance to Big 12 semifinals
"I wanted more stops," Toppin said. "I should have got more stops. My defense wasn't all the way perfect tonight, but I feel like at the end, I got the grit plays and got the stops at the end, so that's all we want."
Texas Tech knows its offense can carry quite the load, but defense, and simply finding ways to win, is what makes teams great in March.
"We got a team of winners," Hawkins said. "Everybody on our team we want to win and we'll do anything it takes to win. That's what coach taught us. So we should go out and just do anything possible, rebound, play defense, stop their best guy. Whatever we have to do to win, that's what we're gonna do."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball knows succeeding in March means winning close games
Continue reading...
Even in a campaign where the ninth-ranked Red Raiders set a new program record for 30-point wins in a season during Big 12 Conference play, they've also had their fair share of close calls. They were one stop or one free throw away from beating Iowa State twice. A couple of healthy bodies away from beating Houston a second time. A made 3-pointer here or there from winning the game at TCU.
Thursday night's quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament marked Texas Tech's 32nd game of the season. It also wound up being the 13th game decided by less than 10 points.
All seven of Tech's losses this year have been single-digit affairs. More often than not, the Red Raiders have been able to pull away from the opposition in late-game situations. Putting away a Baylor team playing with its March Madness chances on life support entering the week proved a much tougher challenge.
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It became even more challenging as the game progressed. Chance McMillian left the first half with an upper body strain and did not return. Darrion Williams checked out several times to continue nursing his ailing right leg, which has bothered him the last few weeks.
Williams did his best to gut it out, but he didn't have enough lift to knock down his jumpers in the second half. Baylor cut what was a 15-point deficit to just two with 12 seconds left, but couldn't pull closer as Texas Tech survived the late scare in a 76-74 triumph.
The second half was hardly the prettiest basketball Texas Tech (25-7) has played this season. The Red Raiders scored just 24 points over the final 20 minutes. After hitting 12 of their 19 3-point attempts in the first half, they went just 3-of-15 in the second.
What ultimately won the game was keeping Baylor off the scoreboard as much as it could.
WHAT WE KNOW: Chance McMillian injury update: Texas Tech basketball player exits in first half vs Baylor
"You get hot sometimes," Elijah Hawkins (12 points, 11 assists) said. "It's not gonna be the whole game. It's gonna cool off at some point, but it just comes down to defense. I feel like we didn't get enough stops in the second half, well, the first half, either. But when our scoring stopped, we really had to lock in at the end of the game and get stops, just grind it out and just try to stay in the lead.
"We've been in a lot of games like that before, so it was one of those games. Just had to grind it out at the end."
Texas Tech improved to 6-7 in games decided by less than 10 points. And more close contests are to be expected as the Red Raiders try to make a deep run throughout March, be it the Big 12 or NCAA Tournament.
"Tournament time, honestly, you don't get pretty points for winning," head coach Grant McCasland said. "You win and find a way to move on."
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McCasland said he told his team with about four minutes left they had scored enough points to win, they just had to come up with the stops to make the lead stick. The Red Raiders led 72-67 with 3:42 left, and Tech needed only four more points — two free throws each from Kevin Overton and Hawkins — to seal the game. Baylor made three shots in the final 30 seconds but, VJ Edgecombe's last-second running floater was off the mark.
Some of the late-game defense came from JT Toppin (26 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks). Baylor's Norchad Omier took it to Toppin in the post throughout the game, getting the better of most exchanges. Late in the game, though, Toppin found a way to keep Omier (29 points, 15 rebounds) from getting his points in crunch time.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Texas Tech basketball vs. Baylor: Red Raiders survive Bears, advance to Big 12 semifinals
"I wanted more stops," Toppin said. "I should have got more stops. My defense wasn't all the way perfect tonight, but I feel like at the end, I got the grit plays and got the stops at the end, so that's all we want."
Texas Tech knows its offense can carry quite the load, but defense, and simply finding ways to win, is what makes teams great in March.
"We got a team of winners," Hawkins said. "Everybody on our team we want to win and we'll do anything it takes to win. That's what coach taught us. So we should go out and just do anything possible, rebound, play defense, stop their best guy. Whatever we have to do to win, that's what we're gonna do."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball knows succeeding in March means winning close games
Continue reading...
