Tag Archives: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Final Four bound: Walter Clayton Jr. sparks Florida’s rally past Texas Tech, 84-79

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Guard Walter Clayton Jr. ignited a comeback in the last six minutes Saturday to rally the top-seeded Florida Gators past the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 84-79, to earn a trip to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.

After the No. 3 Red Raiders took a 71-61 lead with 6:18 remaining, Clayton seized control of the game, scoring 13 of his game-high 30 points to carry the Gators to the West regional title and their first Final Four in 11 years.

Texas Tech contributed to its own demise in a couple of crucial sequences with less than three minutes remaining. Leading by six, the Red Raiders missed the front end of one-and-one free-throw situations twice within a span of 35 seconds.

The Gators capitalized both times with three-point baskets on the other end. The first one, by forward Thomas Haugh, brought Florida to within three with 2:27 remaining. The second, by Clayton, tied the game 75-75 at the 1:47 mark.

After Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams scored inside to push the Red Raiders into a two-point lead, Clayton responded with a three as Florida took a 79-78 lead with 59 seconds left and never relinquished it.

Clayton started the game slowly but gradually got himself into it by driving and drawing contact and then knocking down free throws. He hit 13 of 14 at the line for the game. Haugh produced 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

At 6-foot-9, he was hard to guard on the perimeter, knocking down four of six from beyond the arc.

For the Red Raiders, Williams led the way with 23 points, five rebounds and three steals. Forward JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year, had 20 points and 11 rebounds. But in one of the keys to the game, the Gators made Toppin work, limiting him to nine of 22 shooting.

First half

In the last few minutes of the half, Florida stepped up its defense on one end and pushed the pace on the other, taking a 40-37 lead at intermission.

Averaging 85 points per game for the season, a quicker pace is definitely in the Gators’ favor. In the late run against the Red Raiders, guard Walter Clayton Jr. took advantage of it with three buckets.

Thomas Haugh was good throughout the first 20 minutes with 12 points and six rebounds.

For the Red Raiders, forward Darrion Williams finished the half with 10. JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year, scored nine. Both of them struggled against the Gators’ length, shooting only four of 10 apiece.

Chance McMillian, the Red Raiders’ third-leading scorer, returned to play after sitting out since March 13. He had seven points off the bench.

Records

Texas Tech 28-9
Florida 34-4

Coming up

Florida vs. Auburn or Michigan State in the national semifinals, April 5, in San Antonio

Road to the Elite Eight

Third-seeded Texas Tech: Opened the tournament with an 82-72 victory over 14 seed UNC Wilmington. Next, downed No. 11 Drake, 77-64, to advance to the second weekend. On Thursday night in San Francisco, rallied to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-83 in overtime.

Top-seeded Florida: Routed 16th-seeded Norfolk State, 95-69. Edged defending national champion and No. 8 Connecticut, 77-75. In San Francisco, powered past No. 4 seed Maryland, 87-71.

Sweet 16 thriller: Texas Tech rallies to beat Arkansas in overtime

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Texas Tech Red Raiders rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to tie the game in regulation and then defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-83 in overtime Thursday night in the NCAA Sweet 16.

North Texas coach Grant McCasland. North Texas beat UTSA 59-48 on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Grant McCasland, shown here coaching North Texas in a game at UTSA in 2022, has led the Texas Tech Red Raiders to within one victory of a trip to the Final Four – File photo by Joe Alexander

With the win, the third-seeded Red Raiders moved into the Elite Eight round of the tournament against the No. 1 Florida Gators in the West Regional.

Tech will play Florida on Saturday in San Francisco, with the winner earning a ticket to the Final Four in San Antonio next week. Florida advanced by beating fifth-seeded Maryland 87-71 earlier in the afternoon.

Freshman Christian Anderson scored 22 points, and Darrion Williams and J.T. Toppin added 20 each for the Red Raiders. Williams, from nearby Sacramento, hit a game-tying three at the end of regulation and then hit the game-winner with about seven seconds left in OT.

Johnell Davis led the Razorbacks with a season-high 30 points.

The 10th-seeded Razorbacks, led by veteran coach John Calipari, played well for about 30 minutes and appeared poised to pull off their third upset of the tournament. When Billy Richmond III hit a driving layup with 10:23 remaining, Arkansas held a 61-45 lead.

From there, the Grant McCasland-coached Red Raiders started to do the little things, getting loose balls and offensive rebounds and grinding their way back into the game. Pretty soon, they generated momentum and started raining three-point shots, and the momentum shifted.

Anderson knocked down three of the long distance shots in a three-minute sequence at the end of regulation, the first coming at the 4:21 mark and the third at 1:07 to make it a three-point game. With nine seconds left, Williams nailed a three from the right wing to tie the score at 72-72.

In the overtime, Williams was fouled with 2:23 remaining and buried two free throws, boosting Tech into a 79-78 lead. The Red Raiders would never trail again. In the final 1:41, Toppin knocked down two baskets, which were answered by buckets from Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile and D.J. Wagner.

Wagner’s layup tied the game 73-73 with 34 seconds remaining. At the end, Williams backed down a defender and hit a shot from close range with seven seconds left for the game winner.

Records

Arkansas 22-14
Texas Tech 28-8

Notable

Texas Tech has reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, when the program made it to the Final Four and the championship game under former Coach Chris Beard. Last season, in McCasland’s first as coach, the Red Raiders made the tournament but were eliminated in the round of 64.

Quotable

“In the huddle, coach said, ‘We’re going to find a way to win this no matter how much we’re down.’ I think (we were down) 16 with 10 minutes left or something. As a team, we had that look. We’re not losing this game no matter what, no matter if it’s defensive, offensive rebounds. We’ve got to get defensive rebounds, steals. We had to find a way to make it happen. And at the end we did, so that was it.” – Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson

Texas sneaks in to the field of 68, joining Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor in the NCAA men’s tournament

Posted on by
Reply

Five teams from the state of Texas have made the 68-team NCAA men’s basketball tournament field. The biggest surprise was the 15-loss Texas Longhorns, who will play in the Midwest Region in a First Four, or, a round of 68 game, against Xavier (Ohio) on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.

The Longhorns (19-15) are one of a record 14 teams from the Southeastern Conference to make the NCAA field.

Xavier (21-11) is a Big East team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, meaning the Musketeers will only need to travel about 48 miles to the game site at the Dayton Arena. The winner will advance to round of 64 on Friday against Illinois in Milwaukee.

Games involving Texas teams on Thursday will be:

*Big 12 regular season and tournament champion Houston (30-4) against SIU Edwardsville (22-11) at Wichita, Kan., in the Midwest region. The winner would get either Gonzaga or Georgia in the Round of 32;
*Texas Tech (25-8) against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (27-7), also at Wichita, in the West. The winner would draw either Missouri or Drake in the Round of 32;
*Texas A&M (22-10) against Drake (22-7) at Denver, in the South. The winner would play either Michigan or UC San Diego in the Round of 32.

Games involving Texas teams on Friday will be:

*Baylor (19-14) against Mississippi State (21-12) at Raleigh, N.C. in the East. The winner would advance to play either top-seeded Duke or 16 seeds American or Mount St. Mary’s.

Florida downs Texas Tech 6-0 and wins the Gainesville Regional

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For the JB Replay

Ryan Slater pitched five shutout innings, BT Riopelle crushed a couple of two-run homers and the host Florida Gators won the NCAA Gainesville Regional title with a 6-0 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Slater allowed three hits and walked two but kept the Red Raiders off balance in key moments and off the scoreboard completely, setting the tone for the Gators, who qualified for the Super Regional round of the playoffs.

Riopelle hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning that boosted the Gators into a 3-0 lead. A few minutes later, he added another two-run shot in a three-run fifth. After Riopelle’s fireworks display, Florida was on top 6-0 and cruising.

NCAA regionals
How the Texas teams have fared

Texas: (41-20) Beat host Miami for the title on Sunday in Coral Gables, Fla.
Texas Tech: (41-23) Lost to host Florida in the title game Monday in Gainesville, Fla.
TCU: (39-22) Scheduled to meet host Arkansas in the finals at Fayetteville on Monday afternoon.
Texas A&M: (38-26) Scheduled to play in California against host Stanford in the title game Monday night.
Dallas Baptist (47-16) Lost to Oral Roberts in the finals Sunday at Stillwater, Okla.
Sam Houston State: (39-25) Eliminated after three games at Baton Rouge, La.

Texas Tech, TCU and Texas A&M to play for regional titles today

Posted on by

One team from the state of Texas has advanced to the Super Regional round and three others remain in the hunt leading into Monday’s games in the NCAA baseball tournament.

Here are the details:

Gainesville Regional — Texas Tech (2-1 in the regional) plays host Florida (3-1) at 11 a.m. in the championship game. How did Tech get here? Florida beat Tech 7-1 Saturday night to force a deciding game. What’s next? The winner will move on to the Super Regional round against South Carolina.

Fayetteville Regional — Undefeated TCU (2-0 in the regional) and Arkansas (2-1) play at 2 p.m. in the finals. Another game will follow at 8 p.m., if necessary. TCU needs to win one game to claim the title. Arkansas needs to win twice. How did TCU get here? The Frogs beat the Razorbacks 20-5 Saturday to remain undefeated. Later, Razorbacks beat Santa Clara 6-4 to reach the finals. What’s next? The winner will advance to the Super Regional round against Indiana State.

Stanford Regional — Texas A&M (2-1 in the regional) and host Stanford (3-1) play at 8 p.m. in the championship game. How did A&M get here? Stanford downed the Aggies 13-5 Saturday night to force a deciding game. What’s next? The winner will play the Texas Longhorns in the Super Regional round.

Notable

The Longhorns completed a 3-0 sweep to the Coral Gables Regional title Saturday afternoon when they downed the Miami Hurricanes, 10-6. Texas has advanced to the Super Regionals. Both the Dallas Baptist Patriots and Sam Houston State Bearkats were eliminated Saturday night. Oral Roberts won the Stillwater Regional title with a 6-5 victory over Dallas Baptist (2-2) in the finals. Oregon State downed Sam Houston State (1-2) in an elimination game at the Baton Rouge Regional.

Eye on S.A.-area talent

Dominic Tamez, a junior at Alabama from San Antonio’s Johnson High School, produced two hits, two runs scored and an RBI on Sunday night as the Crimson Tide shut out Boston College 8-0 to win the Tuscaloosa Regional. Tamez also had two hits and two RBIs in an 11-8 victory over Troy on Saturday night. By winning the Tuscaloosa Regional, Alabama will advance to face national No. 1 seeded Wake Forest in the Super Regional round.

Eye on teams from Texas

Texas: 41-20
Texas Tech: 41-22
TCU: 39-22
Texas A&M: 38-26
Dallas Baptist: 47-16
Sam Houston State: 39-25

Texas Tech knocks off national No. 2 seed Florida at NCAA Gainesville Regional

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Gavin Kash homered twice and San Antonio’s Brandon Beckel earned a two-out save, propelling the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a 5-4 victory Saturday over the national No. 2-seeded Florida Gators in the NCAA Gainesville Regional.

Beckel, from Antonian High School, faced a stressful situation in the ninth inning with Tech leading by the eventual final score, with a runner on first base and with Florida star Jac Caglianone at the plate.

Caglianone entered the at bat with 29 home runs on the season, including a two-run shot in the sixth inning, but Beckel got him to pop up to the infield for the last out of the game.

With the victory, the Red Raiders improved to 2-0 in the regional and moved into the finals with high hopes of advancing to next week’s Super Regional round.

On Sunday afternoon, Florida will take on Connecticut in a battle of once-beaten teams. The loser is out, and the winner will play Texas Tech in the finals Sunday night. Tech needs to win only once for the regional title. Its opponent would need to win Sunday and Monday to advance.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to win (a regional) when winning the first two than losing the second or first one,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said in comments published on the school’s athletics website. “It’s very hard to do it the other way. Definitely puts you in a good spot.

“At the same time, I think we got a group that has the utmost respect for the other teams and the game. We’ll go eat dinner. Enjoy it for a little bit, and then get ready to go tomorrow.”

For Texas Tech, Austin Green hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Kash, a transfer from Texas, hit a solo shot in the fifth inning and a two-run blast in the eighth.

In the eighth-inning uprising, San Antonio’s Zac Vooletich from Brandeis High School singled to center. Kash followed by smashing a ball to center that made it 5-3.

The top of the ninth was tense, with Florida fans on edge. Tech reliever Derek Bridges got the first out, getting Colby Halter on a ground ball. The next batter up, pinch hitter Dale Thomas, tripled into the gap in right center. At that point, Texas Tech brought in Beckel, who had pitched two innings of scoreless relief in Friday’s victory over Connecticut.

Cade Kurland, Florida’s leadoff man, grounded to second base on a play that brought Thomas home. Trailing by one, Florida needed only a few more positive things to happen to pull off the comeback.

Florida fans got one of the two. Wyatt Langford beat out an infield single, but Caglianone popped up on an 0-1 count for the final out. With the victory secured, Beckel earned his seventh save of the season.

Kyle Robinson, Ryan Free, Ethan Coombes (the winner, who improved to 4-0), Bridges and Beckel combined to hold the Gators to eight hits. Tech pitching struck out 10 and walked three. Langford led the Gators with two hits and two runs scored.

Caglianone was one for five with the two-run homer off Free, which tied the game, 3-3.

In the day’s earlier game, Connecticut eliminated Florida A&M, 9-6.

Pitching, highlight-reel defense lift Texas to victory in the Coral Gables Regional

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Outfielders Eric Kennedy and Dylan Campbell made highlight-worthy defensive plays to back the pitching of lefthander Lucas Gordon on Friday as the Texas Longhorns downed the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 4-2 in the opening game of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.

In addition, Campbell had two hits and two RBIs and set the Big 12 record by hitting safely in his 36th straight game. Texas (39-20) advances in the regional to play Saturday night against the regional’s host team, the Miami Hurricanes (41-19).

Miami hit three home runs and downed the Maine Black Bears, 9-1, in the late game Friday night. The Hurricanes are the No. 9 seed nationally and the region’s No. 1. The Longhorns are seeded No. 2 in the region.

Locked in a scoreless defensive battle through five innings, the Cajuns and the Longhorns both started to score in the sixth. In the top half, a double by Heath Hood, followed by an RBI single from Connor Higgs, lifted the Cajuns into a 1-0 lead. Texas added two in the bottom half.

For the Longhorns, Mitchell Daly led off the inning with a solo homer to left. Later, San Antonio’s Porter Brown produced the go-ahead run with an RBI single to right. Texas was up 2-1 at that point and would not relinquish the lead. Kennedy added a two-run double in the seventh for a 4-1 spread.

Louisiana’s Carson Roccaforte hit a solo homer in the eighth to account for the final run.

The game may have turned on two defensive plays by the Longhorns. In the fourth inning, Kennedy, playing center, ranged back and slightly into right center while tracking a drive by John Taylor. He leaped at the fence and caught the would-be, three-run homer for the third out.

In the sixth, Campbell, the UT right fielder, raced toward the foul line, dove nearly parallel to the ground and snagged a drive by Roccaforte. If he hadn’t caught it, Roccaforte would have had at least a triple and the Cajuns might have been off and running toward a big inning. The remarkable play preceded the hits by Hood and Higgs.

Gordon worked seven innings and gave up one run on five hits. He improved his record to 6-1 on the season and lowered his earned run average to 2.55. Righthander Jackson Nezue (9-6) was hard-luck losing pitcher, charged with two runs in five plus innings.

Gainesville Regional

Zac Vooletich ripped a two-run single in the fifth inning and Brandon Beckel pitched two innings of scoreless relief Friday, helping the Texas Tech Red Raiders defeat the Connecticut Huskies 3-2 in the opening game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional.

With the victory, the Red Raiders (40-21) will advance in the winners bracket to play Saturday against the regional host Florida Gators (45-14). Florida is the No. 2 national seed and the No. 1 seed in the Gainesville Regional. Texas Tech is the region’s third seed.

Vooletich, a senior from Brandeis, played as the designated hitter for the third-seeded Red Raiders. He entered the day with a .406 batting average. In the fifth inning, he came up to bat with one out and the bases loaded against UConn reliever Zach Fogell. Vooletich responded with a single up the middle to score Kevin Bazzell and Austin Green.

Beckel, a 6-foot-4 junior from Antonian, entered the game in the bottom of the seventh as a reliever for starter Mason Molina. He inherited trouble, with runners at first and second. After a wild pitch allowed the runners to move up, they both scored, one on a ground ball and another on a single.

Both runs were charged to Molina. Beckel settled down to finish two innings and keep the Red Raiders in the lead. He allowed two hits and struck out one. Molina (6-2) earned the victory and Josh Sanders, who pitched the ninth, got the save.

Stillwater Regional

Walloped by the Washington Huskies on Friday, the Dallas Baptist Patriots will play an elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m. against the regional host Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cowboys also lost on Friday, falling 6-4 in a stunner to the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

Oklahoma State entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 national seed and the No. 1 seed in the four-team region. Dallas Baptist, the regular-season champion in Conference USA, entered the weekend as the region’s No. 2 seed, followed in order by Washington and Oral Roberts.

In Friday’s first game, the Huskies surprised the Patriots, 9-5, as they jumped all over Dallas Baptist ace righthander Ryan Johnson. Michael Snyder and Johnny Tincher hit homers in a seven-run fifth inning as Washington took an 8-1 lead.

The Patriots battled back by scoring three runs in their half of the fifth and one more in the seventh. Undaunted, Snyder answered, adding an RBI double in the eighth inning for the final run.

Texas Tech ousts Notre Dame and advances to the Sweet 16

Posted on by

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are on their way to the Sweet 16.

Pushed to the limit by the 11th-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in an NCAA tournament game played at San Diego, the No. 3 Red Raiders rallied at the end for a 59-53 victory.

With the win, the Red Raiders (27-9) will advance to play the two seed Duke Blue Devils (30-6) on Thursday in San Francisco. Texas Tech needs to win twice more in the tournament to reach the Final Four.

“I’m so excited right now I can’t put it into words,” Texas Tech’s Kevin McCullar, Jr., said. “So thankful for my brothers on the team, coach (Mark) Adams and stuff. It came down to defense. We knew we needed to get stops against a really good Notre Dame team. That’s what we ended up doing. And we hit some big free throws.”

Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley hit one of two free throws with 2:09 remaining to give the Fighting Irish a 52-49 lead.

From there, Texas Tech surged on a 10-1 run to the final buzzer.

A key play came with less than a minute remaining when forward Marcus Santos-Silva blocked a layup attempt by Wesley that would have given the Irish a one-point lead.

Instead, the Red Raiders gained possession, Santos-Silva was fouled, and he hit two free throws for a 55-52 lead.

Later, McCullar, Jr., from San Antonio’s Wagner High School, hit two free throws. After a Notre Dame turnover, McCullar dunked in transition to make it 59-52.

Forward Kevin Obanor led the Red Raiders with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Bryson Williams and McCullar added 14 apiece.

Off the bench, Santos-Silva was big. He had four points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. A left-hander, he made two free throws right handed.

“How about that?” first-year Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “Here’s a guy who changes his shot. I’d like to take credit for it. But I think he did that on his own about a month ago … He looks a whole lot better. But quite honestly (it) still hadn’t been going in, in practice. We were crossing our fingers.”

Dane Goodwin led the Irish with 14 points and eight rebounds. Wesley had 11 points and eight boards. Goodwin knocked down three of Notre Dame’s nine 3-pointers.

‘The first time I’ve seen my play card all night’

Posted on by

Here we are, on Saturday morning, and I’d like to throw out some NCAA tournament ‘Best of the Round of 64’ awards.

First, the best quote:

“I mean this is the first time I’ve seen my play card all night. It felt like they were guarding me. I couldn’t even see my play card.” — Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle, commenting on the defensive performance by the Texas Tech Red Raiders against his Bobcats in a Round of 64 game Saturday in San Diego.

Third-seeded Texas Tech won in a rout, 97-62, and advanced to the West Region’s R32 to meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Red Raiders and Irish will play Sunday.

Next, best performance by a player from San Antonio:

Arkansas senior Stanley Umude, from Warren High School, a grad transfer from South Dakota. Umude, who had 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and zero turnovers in a 75-71 victory Thursday night against Vermont.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman on Umude’s zero turnovers:

“It’s hard to turn it over when you shoot it when you got it,” Musselman joked.

Asked to elaborate on Umude’s game, Musselman said, ‘Stan was awesome. He keeps getting better and better and better with each game.”

Musselman said he remembered the 6-foot-6 Umude doing ball-handling drills all summer after he arrived on campus.

“He has basically gone from a power forward/small ball five to playing the two-three for us. He has improved so much defensively and improved on valuing the basketball as well. He has become a complete player,” the coach said.

Arkansas plays New Mexico State Saturday in Buffalo Saturday for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 in the West region. Tipoff is at 7:40 p.m. on TNT.

And, finally, the best in Texas:

Five teams from the state of Texas remain in the tournament. Baylor plays North Carolina today at 11:10 a.m. in Fort Worth.

On Sunday, TCU will take on Arizona and Texas Tech will meet Notre Dame in San Diego. Also Sunday, Houston will battle Illinois in Pittsburgh and Texas will take on Purdue in Milwaukee.

Both TCU and Houston, bracketed in the South region, are looking to play next week in San Antonio. The South region Sweet 16 is next Thursday at the AT&T Center. The Elite Eight game is next Saturday.

Seven teams from Texas make the NCAA tournament

Posted on by

A few nights ago, it appeared that the state of Texas might have a chance to get as many as 10 teams in the NCAA tournament. By the time the field of 68 was unveiled on Sunday night, the state had seven representatives in the Big Dance.

Here’s a quick glance:

Baylor — The Scott Drew-coached Bears (26-6) enter March Madness as the top seed in the East Regional, trying to win back-to-back national championships. Baylor will play Virginia-based Norfolk State (24-6) on Thursday at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth. Baylor, playing without injured big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who is out for the season, finished 14-4 and shared the Big 12 regular-season title with Kansas. The Bears lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Texas Tech — The Red Raiders (25-9) will play as the No. 3 seed in the West. Tech will take on Montana State (27-7) on Friday in San Diego at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Tech will face its initial NCAA test under first-year coach Mark Adams, an assistant under the Red Raiders’ previous coach, Chris Beard. The Red Raiders finished 12-6 and finished third in the Big 12 regular season. They lost to Kansas in the tournament title game.

Houston — The Cougars (29-5) will compete as the No. 5 seed in the South and will meet the UAB Blazers (27-7) on Friday inside PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Houston’s coach is Kelvin Sampson, a veteran who has worked previously at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana. Sampson led the Cougars to the Final Four last year. Houston lost stars Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark to injury earlier in December but rebounded to win the AAC regular season (at 15-3) and tournament crowns.

Texas — The Longhorns (21-11) will move into NCAA play under first-year coach Chris Beard as the sixth seed in the East. They’ll play in Milwaukee on Friday against the No 11 seed Virginia Tech Hokies (23-12). Texas finished fourth in the Big 12 regular season at 10-8 and lost to TCU 65-60 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Virginia Tech won the ACC tournament title as the seventh seed, routing Duke 82-67 in the championship game.

TCU — The Jamie Dixon-coached Horned Frogs (20-12) will take on the Seton Hall Pirates (21-10) on Friday in San Diego. The Pirates are the eighth seed and the Horned Frogs are ninth in the South Region. TCU beat Texas Tech and Kansas late in the regular season and the knocked off Texas in the Big 12 tournament. Seton Hall won seven straight before falling to Connecticut in the Big East quarterfinals.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — The Steve Lutz-coached Islanders (23-12) will take on the Texas Southern Tigers (18-12) on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. Both teams are seeded 16th in the Midwest Region, with the winner getting a chance to take on the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks. Lutz, a San Antonio native, is in his first season as a Division I head coach. The Islanders swept three games to win the Southland Tournament, including back-to-back victories over No. 1 seed Nicholls State and No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana.

Texas Southern — The Johnny Jones-coached Tigers (18-12) scheduled their first 11 games of the season on the road. They lost the first seven before steadying the ship to finish in second place at 13-5 in the SWAC regular season. In the SWAC tournament, the Tigers beat Jackson State, Grambling and then toppled No. 1 seed Alcorn State for the conference title and their second straight trip to the NCAAs. The Tigers rely on defense and a big and talented front court to control the game.