David Tairu stood at the top of the key as Wednesday’s first half ticked to a close and fired his fifth shot of the night.

Like each time before, he didn’t make the basket. But says he did
learn a valuable lesson.

“I learned to shoot better shots,” he said. “And don’t give up the possession with 15 seconds left in the half when you’re up by five.”

Texas guard Justin Mason, right, attempts to move around the defense by Texas Tech guard David Tairu, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Texas forward Damion James is in the background. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Texas Tech guard John Roberson, looks over the Oklahoma State defense during the first half an NCAA college basketball game in Stillwater, Okla. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010.(AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Tairu did just that, as Texas grabbed the rebound, then scored. The shot cut Tech’s lead to three going into halftime, but Tairu says it also sapped him of confidence, leading him to become the third Tech high scorer this season to finish a game without a single point.

Texas Tech (14-6, 2-4 Big 12) has played three Big 12 road games, and in each one has watched one of its leading scorers go 0-for-the night. Today the Red Raiders will try to stop that streak and pick up their first conference road win of the season, facing Texas A&M (14-6. 3-3 Big 12) in College Station at 8 p.m.

In Tech’s first Big 12 road game, Oklahoma State keyed in on John Roberson and prevented him from scoring. Then at Kansas Mike Singletary finished without a bucket. Tairu, Tech’s third-leading scorer, was the third to falter.

“If you’re at home it’s different, you’re more comfortable,” Roberson said. “On the road if you don’t make those first couple shots and you’re not getting to the free throw line, it’s tough to get in a
rhythm.”

Roberson said the mental block intensified as the Cowboys’ lead grew. He felt pressure to score as OSU went on a second-half run, making each Tech bucket more valuable.

For Tairu it was timing more than defense that threw him off. He’d been confident in the shot, but hadn’t considered the clock. Coach Pat Knight pulled him aside at the half and demanded to know what he was thinking, and instead of trying to prove himself Tairu said he became too intimated to shoot. He tried just three times in the second half.

It’s all a psychological thing for me,” Tairu said. “I was putting too much pressure on myself because I wanted to win the game so bad. That’s where I made the mistake, putting pressure on myself and then coaches demand something out of you, too.”

Knight said every team elevates its overall defensive effort once league play begins, leaving transfers like Tairu shell-shocked. Then they key in on known forces like Roberson and Singletary, taking them out of their offense.

He said none of the three was singularly responsible for the team losing on the night he went scoreless, but it didn’t help.

“This league’s so good, there are going to be nights when the best
player on all these teams struggle,” Knight said. “That’s just part of it.”

It could happen again tonight. Last year in College Station the Aggies held Mike Singletary scoreless, then allowed him just six points in a rematch in Lubbock, even though he finished the regular season averaging 11.1 points per game.

In the teams’ third game, however, Singletary went wild, scoring 43 points to break the Big 12 Tournament scoring record and help Tech win 88-83.

“By the time they tried to throw different things at him, it was too late because he was already hot,” Roberson said. “It was just one of those games he got in a rhythm. He was in a zone.”

Roberson and Singletary both recovered quickly after going scoreless; Roberson averages 12.8 points per game since the Oklahoma State loss and Singletary has 22.3 since losing at Kansas.

Tairu, who averaged 11.3 per game before Wednesday, hopes for the same kind of turnaround.

“That’s the beauty of basketball, and just life in general,” Tairu said. “When you fall you’ve always got a chance to get back up.”

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