Raiders’ defense swarms Buffs for first-round victory
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pat Knight stopped his team’s final practice before playing Colorado on Wednesday to remind his players exactly what should be motivating them.
“You guys have an opportunity to beat a team that just beat you three days ago,” Knight said. “That’s an amazing opportunity. They just embarrassed you.”
His words got through.
Four days after losing 101-90 in Boulder, Colo., Texas Tech (17-14) beat the Buffaloes 82-67 in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament to advance and play No. 1 seeded, and No. 1 ranked, Kansas today.
Colorado guard Alec Burks (10) is fouled by Texas Tech forward Brad Reese (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. Texas Tech defeated Colorado 82-67. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Texas Tech guard John Roberson (21) drives on Colorado guard Cory Higgins (11) during the first half of a NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Texas Tech guard John Roberson (21) catches the ball while covered by Colorado guard Nate Tomlinson (1) during the second half of a NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
“We wanted to win this time,” point guard John Roberson said. “We wanted payback.”
Roberson led Tech with 19 points, helping the Raiders snap a seven-game losing streak. He was one of four players to reach double digit scoring.
But Knight said it Tech’s defense that won the game. After giving up a season-high 101 points on Saturday, he became so adamant about the importance of playing defense that he wrote the word on a dry erase board in the locker room nine times—in alternating black and red script—to hammer home his point.
He said the difference Wednesday happened in those pre-game practices. For the first time all season players began asking questions when they didn’t understand something about the scouting report.
Knight said the questions helped him prepare the team.
“They’ve been practicing their butts off, but they finally started asking questions, telling us when they didn’t understand,” Knight said. “I think the last couple days of practice were great because I could explain things and make sure they knew.”
The Buffs (15-16) shot 42.6 percent Tuesday, 16.2 percent less than it did the first time around last weekend.
Tech also finished with 10 more rebounds.
“They were a step quicker than us today,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “They stayed in the possessions longer in a more disciplined way than we did. They seemed to come up with a lot more loose balls than we did.”
One change Tech made was adding Mike Davis to the starting lineup for the first time in his career, giving the Raiders a smaller, quicker lineup that matched up well with Colorado. The Raiders also found what they needed in Brad Reese, who came off the bench for 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Nick Okorie, who seemed off his game Wednesday against Baylor when he scored only five points but bounced back with a career-high 34 Saturday, finished with 18, including two monstrous dunks to give Tech leads of 41-31 and 69-52.
“I didn’t rush any shots, I just tried to go to the basket,” Okorie said. “I think I took about two or three jump shots and everything else was to the basket.”
The 15-point win was Tech’s largest margin of victory since the Big 12 season began and should be enough to propel Tech to the NIT and its first postseason since Knight became head coach.
“We just wanted to win,” Roberson said. “We knew if we won today we might have a chance to be in the postseason. We haven’t been there in two years, and that’s our goal.”
To comment on this story:
courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com l 766-8735
terry.greenberg@lubbockonline.com l 766-8700
More from this category
- Tech basketball sweetens its recruiting class
- Myers leaned on experience as athlete, coach when he became athletics director
- Tech basketball tickets selling quickly
- Big 12 basketball schedules released
- Selling Tech basketball, part 3: Texas Tech plans to draw crowds back to United Spirit Arena
- How to measure basketball attendance
- How to measure basketball attendance
- Selling Tech basketball, part 2: Creative scheduling
Entries (RSS)
Let’s hope we get to the NIT first. Then let’s have a palace revolt (heeheeheehee)!
Report this comment
I’ve been a mild supporter of Pat Knight because I know that he had a very tough row to hoe as far as recruiting and building a team. But when I read that his players FINALLY starting asking questions about things that they did not understand about the scouting reports I just flipped. WHAT KIND OF TEACHER at the end of the season or school year finally realizes that there is a problem if students aren’t asking questions–especially when they are under performing!!!! I think this was about the absolutely dumbest thing that I have ever read from a coach. It just galls the hell out of me that Pat Knight is making hundreds of thousands of dollars to give TTU a team that has less than a handful of conference wins. YES, this is a damn tough league, so what? I’m sick of hearing about how now one wants to come to poor old Lubbock—a CITY of 250,000 people. Kids are going to Manhattan and Lawrence, Ka. and to Waco Tx and to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and those teams are winning. I’ve visited everyone of those universities and the towns—believe me, Lubbock and TTU can and SHOULD compete. Pat had better get his ass in gear and start winning or I’m going to get on the band wagon to get him out of the door. TTU is a great university that whose academic reputation continues to grow worldwide. There is absolutely NO excuse to have losing programs when we are pouring MILLIONS of dollars into them. It is definitely time for Kristi Curry to get out of town and if Pat doesn’t change the team attitude, next year it is time for him to go! I think just about all TTU fans are sick of losing. There is just no excuse for the kinds of records that our TT basketball teams are putting up. NOT when we are recruiting world class talent in tennis as well as track and field. Kittley has his group ranked 6th and Siegel has his team ranked 15th.
Report this comment
Yeah, there is an excuse. It’s called Myers and Nepotism.
You could find a hundred coaches at half Junior’s salary, that couldn’t do worse.
Report this comment
lmchimere,
Excellent Post. It can be done & fans will support a better run program from a better run University! There are some problems that need to be taken care of that go far deeper then an inadequate BB coach!
Report this comment
Hey Aggy remember last year at the Big 12 toonamint? Tech was 20 points behind Aggy and Mike Singletary (single-handed) kicked your butt.
Turgeon, if he continues to do well, will be gone to some big basketball school. Same for Boxer University’s Scott Drew.
Report this comment
Didn’t Okorie score 34 points Saturday ?
Report this comment
If Tech & Knight have any ounce of dignity & decorum they should let this Big-12 tournament be the end of the season.
Put their tails between their legs and come home. Myers and Hance can keep paying out the taxpayers dough like they were liberals – while the United Spirit stays empty (until Elton John comes to town).
All will be well (status quo) for another year in raiderland.
Myers fired the only guy that started filling the stadium.
Report this comment
Very well said Inchimere, we simply can not continue losing millons of dollars the basketball teams ned to be self supportive like the football team, we cant continue having a empty stands, I do wish both team well in the tournaments but that does not make up for continued empty stands and incompetent coaching and recruting,Tech should be able to compete with the rest, there is toomuch local talent also that could be recruited.
Report this comment
THE AD needs to go along with the rest for letting this go on way too long they make those decisions and are responsible for empty stands a split fan base and inefficient and incomptent coaches and the loss of millons of dollars to Tech and the community, they make the decision to hire and fire, not us, they need to be held responsible.
Report this comment
Allof us who mostly regardless of opinion who contribute to this forum are basically concerned about Tech and we all want winning Tech teams, we want the best , we want to win and if possible all the time, like GeneralPatton once said Americans want to win all the time and will not tolerate a loser, I personally think most of us want to win inall Tech sports and are proud of our Red Raiders especially when they show effort and heart and have winning seasons and we show utter frustation and anger when they dont, we simply want the best and will not seetle for less.
Report this comment
As Chris pointed out above, Okorie had 34 on Saturday in Boulder, which was a new career high for him at Tech, I believe. I’m not trying to bash C. Linehan, but when you make such a glaring factual error like you did above when mentioning he only had 5 points on Saturday, how are your readers supposed to take you seriously? Totally incompetent, and it’s been like that all season long with your reporting. Error after error, week after week. Amazing that the men’s basketball beat writer can’t remember a stat like that from four days earlier. What is going on? Absolutely ridiculous.
Report this comment
She’s from Iowa! They’ve only had electricity for 6 months and all this new-fangled equipment takes getting used to! LMAO
Report this comment
Some of the questions asked were, “Coach, who won the game” and “when do we get our snowcones”. Just like t-ballers!!!
Report this comment
Hi, a few messages,
While comments are automatically filtered and approved, we are occasionally made aware of threads that have strayed from the original topic and need to be monitored. Our staff will remove comments that include profanity, name-calling, etc. Please remember this is not meant to be a message board, particularly one dedicated to ridiculing other posters.
First, there is one poster who appears to be spamming the site about hiring a particular new coach. That’s been taken down, and we’ll remove it everywhere else we find it, as we do with all spam.
Second, please remember the line above, that messages not pertaining to the story are subject to removal.
Third, thanks to those who have pointed out the error about Okorie’s scoring (which was reported accurately here). That has been corrected in the story. While we strive for absolute accuracy, our staff is human, and occasionally mistakes slip through. When that does happen, we correct it.
Finally, I’m not from Iowa, only worked there for a few years :)
I don’t regularly read posts, so the best way to contact me is to email me at courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com if you have questions or comments.
Courtney
Report this comment