Tech advances
» Red Raiders regroup in second half to beat Utah State.
When a Brock Miller 3-pointer put Utah State up by six points three minutes into the second half Friday, Texas Tech found itself in a place it hadn’t been in roughly two years: losing in an NCAA tournament game to a team that had its number for the entire first half.
By that point, both teams had gone on multiple runs of at least seven straight points, but with the defensive juggernaut the Aggies had been all season, the Red Raiders needed to pull off a quick run to close the gap.
Turns out, they still had a big one left in them.
Over the next six minutes, Texas Tech broke out for a 24-4 run led by Terrence Shannon Jr. – who scored all 10 of his points during the run – turning a six-point deficit into a 14point Red Raiders’ lead.
Neither Texas Tech nor Utah State shot better than 44 percent from the field in the physical affair, but that run was enough for the Red Raiders to pull ahead and beat the Aggies 65-53 in the first-round victory at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
“Great NCAA tournament games are a game of runs. You’ve got to have a lot of poise, ups and downs, got to stay the course,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “…
Really what helped us on that run is our offense opened up. We got a little bit more aggressive on our break, a little bit more aggressive with our shot selection, and I just told the guys to play fearless, to play with courage, to let it rip.”
Four Red Raiders scored in double figures, led by Mac Mcclung’s 16. Neemias Queta was a force for Utah State, recording 11 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks on the day.
Texas Tech (18-10) now moves on to face former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas (23-6) on Sunday in the second round, with the game time to be determined. The Razorbacks defeated Colgate on Friday.
“(Arkansas is) an outstanding team. They’re worthy of their high seed, they’ve had a great season,” Beard said. “Nothing but respect for (Razorbacks) coach (Eric Musselman) and those players. We look forward to the opportunity to play against a great team.”
At the 9:00 mark of the first half, Mcclung drove toward the lane, stopped near the free-throw line, spun on his pivot foot and hit a turnaround jumper over Queta’s outstretched hand.
A minute and 20 seconds later, Mcclung attacked the basket on a fast break and tossed up a jumper in the line, but Queta — the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year — went up from Mcclung’s side and swatted the ball way out of bounds.
These two plays were a microcosm of the back-and-forth, tough-to-score atmosphere of the first half.
Utah State played to its strengths defensively and made it difficult for Texas Tech to get points inside the arc, where the Red Raiders shot just 19-of-44 in the game.
But in turn, the Red Raiders played to their strengths, doing what they needed to completely dominate the turnover margin. The Aggies average just 13.6 turnovers per game. By halftime however, Texas Tech had already forced 13 Utah State turnovers, and the 14th of 22 overall came just 19 seconds into the second half.
The Aggies’ struggles inside on offense were just as apparent. The Red Raiders completely neutralized Queta, whose layup with 12:24 left in the game finally ended a cold spell of over 26 minutes.
“We were trying to be aggressive, go at him and attack him,” Kevin Mccullar said. “He’s a really good player and a really good shotblocker, that was our game plan on offense, and on defense, just trying to pick up full court and just apply pressure.”
“It was a game plan based on our respect for Utah State,” Beard added. “This is a disciplined team. This team’s not gonna beat themselves. We really felt like we had to be the most aggressive team.”
Both teams scored just two points apiece through the first three minutes of the second half, but Utah State went up by six on Miller’s 3-pointer.
With the way the first half went, one quick run would get Texas Tech right back into it. The Red Raiders did just that and more.
Texas Tech’s 24-4 run broke the game wide open. That proved to be enough, as the Red Raiders stayed out of arms reach the rest of the way and advanced to the second round.