Raiders add to season’s trend
Another top-ranked team goes down as Moretti leads Beard’s bunch to upset
NEW YORK — Texas Tech’s scruffy walk-on Avery Benson tried to crowd surf at Madison Square Garden and coach Chris Beard thrust his fist in the air at many of the same rabid fans who had told security they were going to rush the court.
The fans were held at bay after No. 1 Louisville went down, but the dancing and water-spraying was on full blast in the Red Raiders’ locker room.
Time to get rowdy? For the Red Raiders, you bet.
About the only thing wilder than the postgame party has been the upset craze at the top of the national rankings. Here’s one poll position no team may want: Louisville is the latest No. 1-and-done team to lose soon after securing the top spot.
Benson sparked the Red Raiders with a pair of highlight-reel blocks, and Davide Moretti scored 18 points and hit successive 3pointers that helped send them on their way and knock off undefeated No. 1 Louisville 70-57 on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.
Louisville became the fourth top-ranked team to lose this season, joining Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke.
“I think it just means it’s a great year for college basketball,“Beard said.
It was a great night for the Red Raiders (6-3).
The Cardinals (9-1) easily played their worst game of the season, shooting an abysmal 34 percent from the floor with leading scorer Jordan Nwora totaling only 14 points. Coach Chris Mack let loose his frustration in final 90 seconds and was whistled for a technical.
Moretti hit a pair of free throws to seal the win and Texas Tech fans sitting behind the basket told security to “move the rope, we’re running on the floor!”
There was no court storming at the Garden — but another AP No. 1 bit the dust in an upset. It’s the third time an unranked team has beaten an AP No. 1 this season.
“I don’t know what it speaks of, I’m more worried about losing to Texas Tech,“Mack said.
The Red Raiders lost four of their top five scorers off the team that took Virginia to overtime before losing in the NCAA championship game last season. While Beard could have expected a bit of a transition season, three straight losses, including one at — an albeit, improved and nationally ranked — DePaul made for a rocky start. And with leading scorer Jahmi’us Ramsey (17.3 points) out for the third straight game because of a hamstring injury, the prospect for a win at MSG seemed remote.
Then again, no team can be counted out this season against the hoops heavyweights.
Moretti buried two straight 3s midway through the second half (he missed his eight other attempts) for an 11-point lead that gave the Red Raiders the space they needed. Chris Clarke hit another 3 for Tech and it went into a timeout with a seven-point lead.
Louisville could never make a run, and Nwora was held below his 21.4 scoring average. Louisville missed 3s, layups and generally looked lethargic on offense. Down eight, guard Darius Perry was whistled for a charge in the paint and the unraveling Cards were about out of chances.
“We’re going to have to grow from this and use it as a lesson learned,“Mack said.
Security did man the baseline to keep the wildly enthusiastic Red Raiders fans at bay.
“We had the Raider Power going in Madison Square Garden,” Beard said.