Winning in basketball on a disconcerting day: Texas beats Rice 87-81 in overtime

Capping a long and disconcerting day for the Texas Longhorns, the players stayed together, maintained level heads through an uneven start and then finished with a flourish to down the Rice Owls, 87-81, in overtime.

Guard Marcus Carr led seventh-ranked UT with 28 points, including eight in overtime, at UT’s sparkling new Moody Center arena. Sir’Jabari Rice also hit some key buckets in the extra period.

All night, though, it was coach Rodney Terry who stepped in under difficult circustances to steady the Longhorns against Quincy Olivari, Travis Evee and the hot-shooting Owls.

Arguably one of the worst days in UT’s basketball history started early Monday morning with the shocking arrest of Texas head coach Chris Beard, who was charged with felony family violence.

The arrest stemmed from an overnight altercation in which a woman told police that Beard strangled and bit her, according to the Associated Press, the Austin American-Statesman and other Austin media outlets which cited information in an affidavit.

In the wake of Beard’s afternoon release from jail on bond, the university announced that the coach had been suspended without pay “until further notice.”

With Beard’s status uncertain and Terry working as head coach on the bench, UT players, perhaps understandably, seemed a bit out of sorts initially.

The Owls played loose and free and jumped out to an early nine-point lead, and then after the Horns closed to within one, pushed it back to 10 points with two minutes left in the half.

Leading by four at intermission, Rice continued to hit perimeter shots and traded momentum with UT in a closely-contested match.

At the end of regulation, the Owls had a chance to win but missed a shot from the side in the final seconds, sending it to overtime.

“We showed a lot of grit,” Terry said on the UT’s postgame radio broadcast. “(We) battled through some adversity throughout the course of the day, in the game, earlier today, as well. I give my guys a lot of credit. I give our staff a lot of credit.”

With Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice leading the way, the Longhorns outscored the Owls 15-9 in the extra period.

Olivari led the Owls with 28 points, his third consecutive game with 20 or more, and Travis Evee added 19.

For the Longhorns, Timmy Allen scored 15, while freshman Dillon Mitchell produced 12 points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Rice scored 11, and Brock Cunningham added six points and 10 boards.

“We’ve got an experienced staff that did a great job,” Terry said. “Again, our guys were right where they needed to be at winning time. We’ve been in that position. We’re going to be in that position all year. You know, we found a way to get it done.”

It’s not immediately clear how long Beard will be out.

The coach didn’t answer questions when he left the jail with his attorney, Perry Minton, according to the AP.

Minton declined comment but earlier told the American-Statesman that the coach is innocent.

“He should never have been arrested,” Minton told the newspaper. “The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.”

UT said in a statement that it “takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously.”

According to the AP, the university did not commit to Terry as the acting coach for the Longhorns beyond Monday night.

Terry previously worked at UT as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes before moving on to become a head coach at Fresno State (2011-18) and UTEP (2018-21). He is in his second season as a UT associate head coach under Beard.

Editor’s note: This story was written from San Antonio with help from the UT radio broadcast and with supplemental statistical information from the school’s website.

Texas Tech defeats the No. 1 Louisville Cardinals, 70-57

Texas Tech coach Chris Beard walked off the court at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, waving his arms and hailing fans who made the trip from Lubbock to New York City.

It was a good night to be a Red Raider.

Texas Tech broke a three-game losing streak by knocking off the No. 1-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 70-57, at the Jimmy V Classic.

A relentless Red Raiders’ defensive effort helped to hold the prolific Cardinals to 34 percent shooting and only 17.6 percent from the 3-point arc.

Louisville forward Jordan Nwora, who entered averaging 21.6 points, scored 14 points on 16 shots.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the floor, guard Davide Moretti scored a team-high 18 points to lead three players in double figures.

Playing without high-scoring freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey, the Red Raiders also got 13 points from freshman Terrence Shannon, Jr., and 10 from Avery Benson.

Ramsey, who made the trip to New York, has been out three games with a hamstring issue.

Last year, the Red Raiders made a memorable run to the NCAA title game. In the aftermath, the transition has been a bit of a struggle.

They lost several key players, including Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens and Brandone Francis.

After a 5-0 start, they lost consecutive games to Iowa, Creighton and DePaul, the last two in overtime.

After beating Louisville, the Red Raiders will return home to play Southern Miss, UT-Rio Grande Valley and CSU Bakersfield.

Tech’s Big 12 opener is Jan. 4 at home against Oklahoma State.

Records

Texas Tech 6-3
Louisville 9-1

Culver’s double-double lifts Texas Tech over Oklahoma, 66-59

Guard Jarrett Culver produced 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds Tuesday night, pacing the eighth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders to a 66-59 victory over the No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners.

In one way, the Red Raiders won the game at the free throw line, hitting 17 of 17 to the Sooners’ 10 of 14.

Texas Tech made all six free throws in the final 45 seconds to help seal its third win without a loss in Big 12 play.

The Red Raiders also played their standard solid ball game defensively, holding the Sooners to 20 of 62 from the field, for 32.3 percent.

Only two Sooners’ players reached double figures, with Christian James scoring 14 and Brady Manek 13.

Records

Oklahoma 12-3, 1-2
Texas Tech 14-1, 3-0

Individuals

Oklahoma — Christian James, 14 points, on 4 of 12 shooting. Brady Manek, 13 points, on 4 of 10 shooting.

Texas Tech — Jarrett Culver, 23 points, 13 rebounds, 8 of 13 field goals. Davide Moretti, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals. Tariq Owens, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks. Off the bench, Brandone Francis, 8 points.

Notable

Oklahoma entered the game coming off a seven-point loss at Kansas and a 10-point victory at home against Oklahoma State. Texas Tech had won on the road at West Virginia and at home against Kansas State. With the win over Oklahoma, the Red Raiders improved to 10-0 at home.

Quotable

“I think Oklahoma is going to be part of the fight (for the conference title), so this is a really good win for us.” — Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said on the team’s radio broadcast.


Texas Tech’s Norense Odiase produced eight points on 3 of 3 shooting from the field and 2 of 2 at the line.

Duke-fueled hype on the horizon for 10-0 Texas Tech

The 11th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders are taking a clear-eyed view of their 10-0 record leading into a Thursday night game in New York against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils.

Asked late Saturday night how he will “coach emotion” in preparation for Mike Krzyzewski’s perennial ACC powerhouse, Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said it won’t be a problem.

“It’s kind of a non-issue with us because we got these seniors,” Beard said. “These four seniors, they know that 10-0 doesn’t mean much.

“We’d much rather win our last 10 games. That means you’re going to win the Big 12 tournament and the national championship.”

The Big 12 regular-season schedule starts in January, and Tech is expected to be a contender in the conference race.

But until then, the Duke game promises to be a topic of discussion locally, as well as in the biggest media market in the nation.

Conversations on the game could very well spin off into issues, such as:

1) Whether the Red Raiders are as good as advertised. After all, they lost a lot of talent from last year’s Elite Eight team, and their best victories this year, thus far, have come against Southern Cal, Nebraska and Memphis.

2) Whether they can guard Blue Devils freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, already considered as NBA lottery prospects.

3) Whether they can deal with the hype of a game played in the biggest media market in the nation.

As a coach, Beard seems much more concerned about how he will deal with the Blue Devils’ talent, and not so much the intangibles.

Tech seniors such as Brandone Francis, Matt Mooney, Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens seem to instill confidence in the coach.

So does sophomore Jarrett Culver, who scored 30 points Saturday night in an 82-48 victory over Abilene Christian.

No doubt, Beard has some swagger about him.

“With some younger teams, I’d worry about things like (a big-game atmosphere),” Beard said. “But with these four seniors leading this team, and (with) Jarrett Culver being a best-player type guy …

“You know I got a lot to worry about, with the next game on the schedule (against) a Hall of Fame coach, and NBA (caiber) players. I don’t worry much about our guys not being focused,” he said.

Texas Tech beats Purdue, advances to NCAA Elite Eight

The third-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders ran away from No. 2 Purdue 78-65 Friday night in Boston, advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Texas Tech will play No. 1-seed Villanova on Sunday for the East Region championship and a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio.

In a television interview, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard called it “one of our best defensive games” of the season and cited guard Keenan Evans for taking over “like he usually does.”

Evans hit clutch shots down the stretch in finishing with a team-high 16 points.

Perhaps more significantly, the Red Raiders held Purdue to 44 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

Texas Tech had made it to the Round of 16 twice in the past 22 years but lost both times.

Tech’s victory places a third team from the Big 12 Conference in the Elite Eight.

The Red Raiders will join the Kansas State Wildcats and the Kansas Jayhawks, all with a chance to make it to San Antonio.

In Saturday’s Elite Eight games, Kansas State will play Loyola-Chicago in Atlanta for the South Region championship, while Florida State will take on Michigan in Los Angeles for the West title.

On Sunday, Tech will face off against talented Villanova in Boston, while Kansas will play Duke, in Omaha, for Midwest Region crown.

Tech might have as balanced of a team as any left in the tournament because of its athleticism, its defense and its ability to get shots close to the basket.

“We just gave up way too many layups,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We couldn’t keep ’em out of the paint.”

Texas Tech beats Florida, advances to Round of 16

Texas Tech advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years Saturday night following a 69-66 victory over Florida in an East Regional second-round game at Dallas.

It’s a stunning achievement for the Red Raiders, who were picked in the preseason to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 Conference.

Second-year Texas Tech coach Chris Beard told a television reporter for TBS that he has always been driven to prove people wrong.

“We don’t have the McDonald’s All-Americans,” Beard said. “But we’ve got guys who have gotten better, and we’ve got guys who believe in themselves.”

As a result, third-seeded Tech (26-9) will move on to Boston next week to face either Purdue or Butler.

The Red Raiders last played in the Sweet 16 in 2005 when they defeated UCLA and Gonzaga in Tucson before losing to West Virginia, 65-60, in the regional semifinals at Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Bob Knight was in his fourth season as Tech’s coach at the time.

Houston’s heart-break

Jordan Poole hit a long three-pointer to beat the buzzer as the third-seeded Michigan Wolverines ousted No. 6 Houston 64-63 in a Round of 32 West Region thriller at Wichita, Kansas.

The Cougars had a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 34 years but couldn’t stop the Wolverines from making the winning play with a possession that started with 3.6 seconds remaining.

Michigan inbounded the ball from its own baseline. The pass went to Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who passed to Poole on the right wing.

Poole elevated with pressure from a Houston defender and, with legs splayed, hoisted the shot that lifted Michigan into the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Loyola-Chicago wins again

Clayton Custer’s jumper with 3.6 seconds left boosted the 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago Ramblers into the Round of 16 with a 63-62 victory over No. 3 Tennessee in a South Region game at Dallas.

The Volunteers had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Jordan Bone misfired on a contested three from top of the circle.

With the victory, Loyola-Chicago emerged as the only double-digit seed to win a second-round game on Saturday, with three more — UMBC, Butler and Syracuse — playing Sunday.

Round of 32

Saturday’s scores / Sunday’s schedule

South

(16) UMBC vs. (9) Kansas State, Sunday, 6:45 p.m., TruTV
(5) Kentucky beat (13) Buffalo, 95-75

(11) Loyola-Chicago beat (3) Tennessee, 63-62
(2) Cincinnati vs. (7) Nevada, Sunday, 5:10 p.m., TNT

West

(1) Xavier vs. (9) Florida State, Sunday, 7:45 p.m., TNT
(4) Gonzaga beat (5) Ohio State, 90-84

(3) Michigan beat (6) Houston, 64-63
(7) Texas A&M vs. (2) North Carolina, Sunday, 4:15 p.m., CBS

East

(1) Villanova beat (9) Alabama, 81-58
(5) West Virginia vs. (13) Marshall, Sunday, 8:40 p.m., TBS

(3) Texas Tech beat (6) Florida, 69-66
(10) Butler vs. (2) Purdue, Sunday, 11:10 a.m., CBS

Midwest

(1) Kansas beat (8) Seton Hall, 83-79
(4) Auburn vs. (5) Clemson, Sunday, 6:10 p.m., CBS

(11) Syracuse vs. (3) Michigan State, Sunday, 1:40 p.m., CBS
(2) Duke beat (7) Rhode Island, 87-62

Prince or frog? Texas Tech’s Beard wary of Big 12 hype

The Texas Tech basketball program on Sunday discovered yet another sign that the Red Raiders have joined the conversation as a dark horse candidate to play deep into March during the NCAA tournament.

In Jerry Palm’s latest projection for CBS Sports, the Big 12-leading Red Raiders are pegged as a No. 2 seed in the West region, headed for Dallas to play in the round of 64.

Of course, a month remains before Selection Sunday.

But both the experts and amateurs alike are busily trying to sort out what the bracket might look like.

In dissecting how the Big 12 teams will be slotted, Palm has projected the surprising Red Raiders (21-4, 9-3) as a No. 2 and Kansas (19-6, 8-4) as a No. 3.

West Virginia is pegged as a No. 5 seed and the Oklahoma Sooners, who will roll into Lubbock to play the Red Raiders Tuesday night, are a No. 6.

TCU is viewed as a No. 10, with Texas and Kansas State slotted precariously on the No. 12 line.

All very interesting, except Texas Tech coach Chris Beard isn’t buying any of it.

Beard has joked that, in the Big 12, you can be a prince one day and a frog the next.

“A two-game losing streak feels like your life is over,” he told reporters Saturday night.

Life is good at the moment for Beard, whose team has won six in a row.

In their latest statement, the Red Raiders went on the road and convincingly whipped the Kansas State Wildcats, 66-47, to gain sole possession of the conference lead.

Pressed on what he is telling his players now that they hold a one-game edge on defending champion Kansas, Beard said the message is simple.

Stay the course.

“Iā€™m getting this question a lot,” Beard said. “I wish I had a better answer for you. Iā€™m not trying to be like Debbie Downer.

“(With our team) … the next day is the most important. Weā€™re just trying to win the next game on our schedule.”

Texas Tech makes history with first victory at Kansas

The Texas Tech Red Raiders guarded the three-point line effectively and came away with an impressive 85-73 Big 12 road victory at Kansas Tuesday night.

It was the first win by the Red Raiders at historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse in 18 tries, the Associated Press reported.

A good argument can be made that the Red Raiders won the game with their perimeter defense.

Kansas hit 17 of 35 three-point shots in a 92-86 win at Texas on Friday night.

Texas Tech didn’t allow the defending conference champions to shoot like that two games in a row, limiting the Jayhawks to 6 of 26 from long distance .

As a result, the 18th-ranked Red Raiders improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in conference under second-year coach Chris Beard.

The 10th-ranked Jayhawks, under veteran coach Bill Self, fell to 11-3 and 1-1.

“It’s impossible to stop ’em,” Beard said. “You just try to contain ’em, and you try to contest shots.

“Like, the way they shot the ball in Austin the other night, they’re not going to get beat, cause Texas did a good job contesting most of ’em. They’ll play on the final Monday (of the NCAA tournament, if they shoot well).

“You got to be fortunate and tonight, we were. They got some good looks. We made some mistakes on switches. So we were fortunate tonight. But you got to give our guys credit. I did feel like there was a sense of urgency to guard the three-point line.”

Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham led all scorers with 27 points, but he didn’t have much help.

In contrast, ten players played for the Red Raiders and nine of them scored.

Senior Keenan Evans led Texas Tech with 15 points. Justin Gray, Norense Odiase and Jarrett Culver added 12 apiece. Zhaire Smith scored 11.

Texas Tech’s Chris Beard: My players have made me better

Texas Tech freshman Zhaire Smith throws down a dunk off a rebound to fire up the home crowd in Lubbock.

With second-year coach Chris Beard at the helm, the Texas Tech Red Raiders have started to assert themselves as a potential threat in the Big 12 Conference. This is something of a surprise considering that Tech was picked seventh in the conferenceā€™s preseason poll.

But since the season started, the Red Raiders have been much better than advertised. Theyā€™ve forged a 7-1 record with victories at home over two ranked opponents. Two weeks ago, Tech emerged as a Top 25 team itself, showing up at No. 22 in the Associated Press poll.

After a 10-point loss to Seton Hall, the Red Raiders fell out of the rankings for a week, only to re-appear on Monday at No. 24. Now, itā€™s starting to look like they might be a fixture in the national spotlight.

Buoyed by an energized fan base and by a group of talented athletes playing hard for him, Beard could be poised for a big season. Techā€™s latest triumph came last Tuesday when it rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Nevada, 82-76, in overtime.

More than 9,000 fans at United Supermarkets Arena roared as Keenan Evans scored 25 of his career-high 32 points after intermission. Beard credited the fans, his players and his staff for making it happen.

ā€œYou got to give the players a lot of credit,ā€ he said. ā€œThese guys have made me a better coach. Iā€™m kind of a competitive, fiery guy. Patience isnā€™t one of my strengths. But I think with these guys, Iā€™ve really tried to learn to try to keep the culture positive during the game. Now, we still tell the truth. If weā€™re not playing well, Iā€™ll be the first to tell ā€˜em.

ā€œBut I think overall, as a coach, you try to give your team a chance to win the game. I give our staff a lot of credit. We didnā€™t have any panicked timeouts. We didnā€™t get negative. We stayed positive. Iā€™m proud of our staff for doing that. We gave our players a chance to win the game tonight. Give our players all the credit. Theyā€™re the ones that did it.ā€

Tech clearly has more going on this season than in Beardā€™s first, when the Red Raiders finished 18-14. The Red Raiders started 11-1 through the non-conference phase of the schedule last year, but they did it against a weaker schedule.

This year, the Red Raiders have defeated two Top 25 opponents (Northwestern and Nevada), and they also knocked off Boston College. The Eagles arenā€™t ranked but they did beat previously undefeated and No. 1 Duke last weekend.

Techā€™s only loss came on Nov. 30 in New Yorkā€™s Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall of the Big East hit 11 three-pointers and scored 50 points during the second half. Asked after the victory over Nevada whether his team learned a few lessons in defeat, Beard said they did.

ā€œJust like every team in the country, weā€™re a work in progress,ā€ he said. ā€œWeā€™re trying to get better. The Seton Hall game, we didnā€™t think we were the most aggressive team. Tonight (against Nevada), I think we were. And even if we lose this game tonight to a really good Nevada team, I still think the same thing. I thought we were aggressive enough down the stretch to give ourselves a chance.ā€

Beard said the Red Raiders did a better job of keeping their composure against the Wolf Pack.

ā€œAgainst Seton Hall, it turned into a 6-7 minute game (and) we made too many mistakes. We didnā€™t make enough plays,ā€ he said. ā€œTonight, when it turned into a 6-7 minute game, weā€™re still making mistakes. But I thought we were making plays. You know, victory favors the more aggressive team. Sometimes, you got to go make a play, especially at this level. I thought we did that tonight.ā€