Tag: Texas Tech Basketball

No. 10 Texas, Texas Tech headline Saturday’s best basketball games

Texas Tech enters Saturday winless in conference play.

The Texas Longhorns face their newfound rival in basketball on Saturday. The Texas Tech Red Raiders come to town after sweeping the Longhorns last season.

The matchup couldn’t come at a worse time for Texas Tech. Mark Adams’ team is 10-6 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. In their last trip onto the court, the Raiders fell to No. 14 Iowa State, 84-50.

Wins have come easier in Austin in recent weeks. Texas enters Saturday on the heels of a comeback victory over No. 17 TCU. The game saw the Longhorns down by as many as 18 points. Head coach Rodney Terry will look to capitalize on the team’s hot start Saturday night.

Here’s a look at some of this weekend’s biggest games.

Texas basketball has two games to prepare for No. 10 Creighton

Gonzaga is only the beginning of a loaded schedule. Here’s some storylines to follow.

Texas basketball secured a resume-topping win over No. 2 Gonzaga this week. Contrary to what one might think, the schedule difficulty isn’t all that far down from here.

The Longhorns have a pair of Top 20 matchups on the horizon. After home games with North Arizona and UT-Rio Grande Valley, the team will play consecutive nationally televised games with No. 10 Creighton and No. 19 Illinois.

The above games are quite a start to December. Albeit, Texas may need those tests to prepare them for Big 12 play.

The Illinois Fighting Illini will have two familiar faces for Texas. Former Texas Tech guard and Chris Beard recruit Terrence Shannon Jr leads the Illini in scoring with 22.7 points per game. Former Baylor defensive specialist Matthew Mayer is also part of the team.

Let’s look at a few milestone games and storylines to follow.

Opposing fans make sense of No. 11 Texas’ win over No. 2 Gonzaga

It was a tough night for critics of Longhorns basketball.

Texas had an objectively impressive win on Wednesday night. There isn’t much to nitpick against the Longhorns’ performance but some fanbases tried their best.

Leading up to the game, many believed the Gonzaga Bulldogs would roll the Longhorns. After last year’s performance, another Gonzaga win was the reasonable expectation.

As it turns out, Texas is a much better basketball team than many anticipated. Not everyone could accept that fact following the dominant win by Chris Beard’s team.

Texas is now among basketball’s top contenders after not only winning, but winning soundly. If it isn’t abundantly clear in Beard’s separation with Texas Tech, the Longhorns head coach is winning the divorce.

Here’s a look at how the Longhorns’ naysayers took the news.

What the Big 12 could look like if it expanded to 20 teams

The Big 12 could secure its future by becoming the top basketball conference.

The Big 12 is well on its way to becoming the next super conference in college football. Continue reading “What the Big 12 could look like if it expanded to 20 teams”

Former UNC guard Kerwin Walton headed to Texas Tech

Former UNC basketball guard Kerwin Walton committed to Texas Tech out of the transfer portal on Monday night.

Former UNC guard [autotag]Kerwin Walton[/autotag] has made a decision on his future and announced his commitment to Texas Tech on Monday night.

The former sharp-shooting guard entered the transfer portal on the last possible day to be eligible for the one-time transfer waiver, allowing him to play immediately next season.

Walton is a rising junior who saw his role dip from his freshman year to his sophomore season. Last year he averaged 3.4 points per game in 13.4 minutes per game. He shot 37.3 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three. Walton started just one game in 31 appearances.

As a freshman, Walton burst on to the scene with his shooting ability on the wing and started 20 of 29 games, averaging 8.2 points per game in 21 minutes per game. He shot 44.4 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep. He also led the team in made 3s with 58 on the season.

Walton was a former four-star recruit who chose North Carolina over offers from Arizona, Minnesota, Baylor, Arkansas, Iowa State, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio State and many others.

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Oklahoma Baseball suffers 18-0 loss to Wichita State

OU Baseball never got it going on the road against Wichita State as they lost 18-0

Nothing went right for the Oklahoma Sooners in Wichita on Monday night as they lost 18-0 to the Wichita State Shockers.

OU pitching gave up 18 hits while the OU bats collected just one on a Kendall Pettis double. Again, the Sooners had one hit in the entire game. The last time these two teams played, things went a bit better for the crimson and cream.

Aaron Calhoun started on the mound and didn’t last long with the Shockers doing a lot of damage early in the third inning. Calhoun was credited with the loss, getting  the first decision of his NCAA career. His record now stands at 0-1.

The pitching woes that have plagued the Sooners all season long were on full display tonight. Eight pitchers were used with half of them lasting less than an inning. OU pitching combined for nine walks and only six strikeouts.

This was Oklahoma’s final game before their last series of the season against No. 5 Texas Tech. Texas Tech is also one game ahead of OU and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 baseball standings.

The series will be in Lubbock and starts on Thursday, May 20. The Sooners have a lot of work to do in the next few days if they want a better result against the Red Raiders than the one they had tonight.

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Duke tore apart Texas Tech’s top defense when it mattered most

Texas Tech could not stop Duke from making it rain.

It looked like Texas Tech had Duke’s number on Thursday night in the Men’s NCAA tournament.

For the most part, the Red Raiders held Duke’s prolific offense in check during the first half. Thanks to a defense that ranked in the top-10 in the country in almost every relevant category, Texas Tech (who came into the game as 1-point underdogs) put Duke in a vise grip and refused to let go. A 33-29 first-half lead was nowhere near indicative of the Blue Devils’ offensive struggles. Surely no one in Durham imagined Mike Krzyzewski’s formal farewell tour ending at the hands of a defensive masterclass.

Folks, that’s why you play two halves in college basketball.

With their season on the line, Duke punched back at Texas Tech and found an answer to the gritty, disciplined, athletic Red Raider defense … to the tune of a lights-out, 17-of-24, shooting performance second half.

I shouldn’t have to tell anyone this secret, but 70.8 percent shooting in the clutch against a defense that locks almost everyone down while throwing away the key is ridiculously good. We know Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore will get theirs for Duke. Thursday night was the sort of offensive performance where even Jeremy Roach found a way to make his mark by putting the ball in the basket. A 78-73 win was well-earned with good defense beaten by a better offense.

Texas Tech brought its A-game to the Sweet 16. In another year, against another team, they might have been on the verge of the Final Four. But not this version of Duke. This version of Duke was firing on all cylinders and looked unstoppable with their backs against the wall. As Texas Tech learned, sometimes it’s just not your year.

As for the Blue Devils, they suddenly look national title worthy. They can thank the Red Raiders for awakening the sleeping offensive giant inside.

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Jeremy Roach saved Duke, Coach K, in thriller win over Texas Tech

Duke has an unexpected ace in their sleeve.

On Thursday night, it certainly looked like Mike Krzyzewski’s swan song with Duke was coming to an end. Behind its physical, grimy defense, Texas Tech had knocked the Blue Devils (favored by a point heading into the contest) down to the mat over and over. More importantly, they showed no signs of letting up.

This was it. A 42-year legendary run in men’s college basketball, over, in the Sweet 16. Not the way anyone had envisioned Coach K leaving the game. Oh well. Happy endings are rare, and you shouldn’t expect them.

But Duke wasn’t finished. Far from it. Krzyzewski had hope of his final run continuing. All thanks to sophomore guard Jeremy Roach.

As Duke responded in this back-and-forth battle, Roach was instrumental. Beginning at the 10:07 mark of the second half, it seemed like he was in on every play. A layup. A free throw here and there. A steal. A layup. A jumper in the face of a tenacious Red Raider defender. Another jumper.

When the Blue Devils finally started to take control in the closing moments, Roach potted what felt like a dagger in an eventual 78-73 Duke win.

Onions, ice in your veins, and every hallmark of a clutch play. A classic “Duke” moment in March, in one of Coach K’s last March moments with Duke, delivered by a guard like Roach, who was ready for the March stage.

All in all, Roach chipped in 15 points (13 in the second half), five assists, and four boards. It’s the guard’s third straight tournament game in double-figures scoring. Considering Duke was on the ropes, that’s not bad for a guy who averaged just over eight total points a game during the regular season.

In the coach’s last ride, Duke is on to the Elite Eight against Arkansas. Even better, they have their X-Factor.

His name is Jeremy Roach. Remember it.

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Mike Krzyzewski got emotional when talking about Duke’s ‘grit’ after win over Texas Tech

You could practically feel the pride coming out of the legendary coach.

Over the years, Mike Krzyzewski has seen a lot of basketball. A lot of good, some bad, but mostly good. After almost 42 years of coaching in the same place, you’d think that nothing could bring him to tears anymore. He’s seen everything you could imagine. He’s been there and done that. There’s only so much that can happen with overtly orange basketballs on a small rectangular court.

But then his final-ever team at Duke survives an absolute battle with Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 of the Men’s NCAA tournament. A 78-73 win that felt a lot closer than the margin might indicate. Show tremendous toughness in that sort of victory, and you’ll even move the legendary coach.

CBS’s Tracy Wolfson asked Krzyzewski about the Duke team’s “grit” in beating the Red Raiders. He couldn’t help but gush and choke up.

What a fantastic moment all around.

You’ve managed to do something special when you’re getting Coach K to swallow his words in a victory bask mid-sentence. Not to be overlooked, if you’re likely NBA lottery pick Paolo Banchero, you know you’re an incredible talent if Krzyzewski is glowing about you — unprompted — in the same interview.

Duke is on to the Elite Eight against Arkansas. Something tells me that by the end of this month, we’ll see Krzyzewski, at minimum, fighting back the tears again. That’s what coaching should be all about: Being proud of your players.

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Predicting how far each Big 12 team will advance in the NCAA tournament

How far can each Big 12 team go in the NCAA tournament?

The Big 12 is widely regarded as one of the best conferences in college basketball. The top-to-bottom quality of the league provides competitive games week in and week out during conference play.

Six teams from the Big 12 were selected into the NCAA tournament and each squad has sights set on making a run deep into the bracket.

No. 1 seeds Baylor and Kansas are two of the odds on favorites to win the national championship with No. 3 seeded Texas Tech not far behind. Texas comes in as a No. 6 seed looking for its first March Madness win since 2014. No. 9 TCU and No. 11 Iowa State wrap up the Big 12 members who are qualified for this year’s big dance.

Each of these teams has been battle tested by each other during conference play and is ready to show it on the big stage. The Big 12 is looking to go back-to-back after Baylor cut down the nets at the end of the season.

Here is a prediction of each Big 12 team’s ceiling in the NCAA tournament: