Texas Tech Basketball: Takeaways from Red Raiders sweep of No. 14 Texas
No. 18 Texas Tech basketball swept the Texas Longhorns in United Supermarkets Arena Saturday. The Red Raiders now have six of the last seven meetings in this rivalry.
The Longhorns came out strong early with an emphasis on getting the ball inside.
Jericho Sims scored the first points of the game for the Longhorns with a two-handed slam. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The game went back and forth in the first half. Neither team separated themselves. Texas’ defense pressured Mac McClung very well, and he struggled to score until the last five minutes of the game. He gave the Red Raiders their first lead with a three-pointer. The score was 25-24 with a 4:43 to go until halftime.
Kevin McCullar, Micah Peavy, and Marcus Santos-Silva put the ball in the Red Raiders’ basket the rest of the half. Matt Coleman III hit a three at the buzzer for the Longhorns to tie the game at 33.
The Texas Tech basketball defense put the clamps on the Longhorns, and they struggled to get shots to go down in the second half. They didn’t make a shot until Brock Cunningham hit a three-pointer to cut the Longhorns’ deficit to 13, 52-39, with 11:02 remaining in the game.
The Longhorns did back down. Greg Brown, Kai Jones, Andrew Jones, and Sims were an integral part of that effort. Ultimately, the Longhorns weren’t able to get the upset and lost 68-59.
McClung had a game-high 16 points and four rebounds. Four other Red Raiders scored in double figures.
Terrance Shannon Jr. put on a show with his highlight-reel slams throughout the game. He scored 11 points and secured three rebounds.
Shannon Jr. will be an exciting player to watch for the Red Raiders in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments. He is still recovering from an ankle injury and played like he was fully healthy.
The Red Raiders will take on the TCU Horned Frogs Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. On the road Tuesday, the Longhorns will play the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.