KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A strong comeback late in the first and early in the second half got the No. 25 Texas Tech basketball team back in it before top-ranked Houston ran away with the 82-59 win Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament in T-Mobile Center.
Texas Tech (23-10) trailed by 16 in the first half before getting the score knotted 37 with 17:40 left. From there, the Cougars (30-3) went on a 20-1 run that included a bevvy of Texas Tech turnovers to leave the result in little doubt.
Houston has now won 11 straight games and will play in Saturday’s championship game.
Darrion Williams’ absence leads to shuffled
Minutes before the opening tip, Darrion Williams was ruled out as a precautionary measure due to an ankle injury he sustained in Thursday’s win over BYU.
IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s basketball tournament bracket contests for a chance at $1 million prize.
Williams began warming up but came off the floor later in the pregame and was held out of the contest. That inserted Chance McMillian into the starting lineup for the first time this year and it led to Houston jumping out to a 7-2 lead that quickly expanded to a 15-point deficit for the Red Raiders.
Without Williams’ services and Joe Toussaint again picking up a pair of first-half fouls, Pop Isaacs went looking to provide the offense. He hit a difficult 3-pointer but was just 1-of-9 from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action.
McMillian, Eemeli Yalaho lead comeback
After Houston took a 16-point lead midway through the half, McMillian and Eemeli Yalaho became assertive and it led to Tech cutting the deficit to three at the half.
McMillian converted four of his five shots for 10 points at the break. Yalaho, meanwhile, hit just his third 3-pointer of the season and finished a tough drive against the Big 12 defensive player of the year Jamal Shead to keep the Red Raiders’ hopes alive at the break.
Cougars pounce on Tech miscues
The Red Raiders did a lot of good work to come back from the deficit, tying the game at 37 early in the second half on an Isaacs three-point play. After that, the Cougars showed why they’re the No. 1 team in the country, going on a 20-1 run to pull away with the game.
The Cougars went up 65-43 with 9:24 left in regulation. At that point, the Red Raiders had 17 turnovers, which Houston turned into 21 points on the other end of the floor.
What’s next?
The Red Raiders will now await their selection committee’s decision for their NCAA Tournament seed, opponent and location. The bracket will be unveiled Sunday starting at 5 p.m. Texas Tech will be hosting a viewing party at United Supermarkets Arena starting at 4 p.m. The event is free for fans to attend.
