Roberts fired the ball downcourt to David Tairu, who slammed it through the net in the game’s final seconds to seal a 69-64 victory in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. With the win Texas Tech advances to play Ole Miss next week.

Brad Reese finished with 19 points, one shy of his career-high, and 10 rebounds to lead Tech. John Roberson added 14 points.

Ben Smith had 17 points to lead the Dolphins.

Tech is now 19-15. The time and date of the next game have not been announced.

Brad Reese leads Texas Tech with 12 points in 13 minutes on the court. Lehmon Colbert has 10 points for Jacksonville.

The winner of this game will face Mississippi next week for a chance to play in the NIT Final Four in New York City.

“We’re two wins away,” the Texas Tech basketball coach told his team. “Let’s get to New York.”

That’s been the Red Raiders’ goal since dropping out of the race for an NCAA tournament spot; the National Invitation Tournament holds its semifinal and championship rounds at Madison Square Garden, and Tech wants to be one of the four teams in that field.

It looked like a long shot Sunday, when Tech learned it was a five seed and would have to play a road game against Big East member Seton Hall. By beating the Pirates 87-69 and earning today’s home game against eighth-seeded Jacksonville, Tech got the win it needed to advance and the momentum to believe it can advance even farther.

Texas Tech's John Roberson, right, catches the ball over Colorado's Nate Tomlinson during their game March 10 in Kansas City, Mo. Winning that game 82-67 gave the Red Raiders momentum that helped them defeat Seton Hall on Tuesday to advance to today's NIT second round.

“I feel like we’ve had (momentum) for the past couple of weeks, beating Colorado then playing well against Kansas and beating Seton Hall,” forward Mike Singletary said. “We’ve got it back.”

Fearing its 101-90 loss at Colorado on March 3 would come to define its season, Tech dedicated itself to beating the Buffaloes in the Big 12 tournament’s opening round and remaining an NIT candidate. The Raiders accomplished that goal, then played well in an 80-68 second-round loss to Kansas before beating Seton Hall less than 48 hours after learning of the matchup.

Now Tech returns to United Spirit Arena for a 2 p.m. game against Jacksonville. It will be the first game since that loss in Boulder, Colo., in which Tech is not an underdog road team.

While the Raiders seem to thrive in situations where they stand to prove pundits wrong, Knight said this game alone is not enough to drain them of that hunger.

“How could our ego be big?” he said. “We got beat up pretty good for three weeks. These kids are just happy to keep on playing.”

With the hope for a New York City trip planted in their minds, Knight said he will change his theme when addressing the team before today’s game. He wants the players to look at this as a senior night re-do, in which seniors Nick Okorie and Darko Cohadarevic can avenge the 86-68 loss to Baylor in their final guaranteed home game March 2.

Okorie and Cohadarevic have both played perhaps the best games of their Tech careers in the past weeks. Now they will get the chance to leave their home court with a win.

“I wouldn’t say we have more to play for,” Okorie said, “but seeing as how this is our last couple games, we don’t want to lose.”

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“That was a great shot, especially coming down at the buzzer to bank it,” Tech point guard John Roberson said. “Everybody ran into the hallway as soon as they hit that shot.”

Coach Pat Knight spent late February and early March preaching the benefits of an NIT berth. If Tech could get some postseason experience this year, he promised, it would prepare them for a possible NCAA run in 2011.

So far, he’s gotten his wish.

Kansas guard Sherron Collins (4) and Texas Tech guard John Roberson (21) dive for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 tournament Thursday, March 11, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Tech had less than 48 hours to prepare for Seton Hall. The Red Raiders learned of their opponent late Sunday, and at 1 p.m. Monday were en route to New Jersey.

“It was crazy,” forward Mike Singletary said. “We had an idea we were going to be in it, but we didn’t know we’d have to leave the next day. We were rushing a little bit.”

Then when Smith’s bucket fell with 1.5 seconds left, any expectation of facing Arizona State flew out the window.

“I thought the game was over,” Roberson said. “There was like two minutes left and they were down by 12. I thought we’d be playing Arizona State.”

Even plans for hosting have been a scramble. Eight seed Jacksonville defeating top-seeded Arizona State meant Texas Tech would head home for the NIT’s second round; the higher seeded team hosts in the tournament’s first three rounds. Instead of going back on the road to face the Sun Devils, who they held a closed exhibition against before the season started, Tech hosts the Dolphins at 2 p.m. Saturday at United Spirit Arena.

Although the opponents were set Tuesday night, Tech’s ticket office and arena staff learned of the game time and date late Thursday morning. Season ticket holders had just five hours to reserve their regular seats for the game, although many seats are still available.

Tech senior Nick Okorie said he’d hoped for one more home game, particularly after Tech lost to Baylor on senior night earlier this month. When the Raiders earned a five seed, though, he assumed it wouldn’t happen.

“I thought if we pulled off the games against Colorado, beat them twice, and played well against Kansas we would have a top seed in the NIT,” Okorie said. “I thought we’d get a home game that way.”

Now Okorie knows this is his last chance at United Spirit Arena. Tech will face the winner of Memphis vs.
Mississippi, which will be played at 5:30 p.m. today. Because those are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, the winner of that game will most likely host.

Okorie said he won’t be thinking about the possibility for another game or his team’s future tournament tickets, but only of ending his home career on a positive note.

“I kind of put everything away and just play,” Okorie said. “When you’re on the court you don’t really think about that. You just think, ‘I’ve got to get the win.’ ”

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*this story edited March 19, 2010

All the Texas Tech senior wanted was to play in Thursday’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament game. But with the motion of simultaneously bending over and pushing off during Wednesday’s practice, Murphree’s chances at playing fell alongside her.

For almost two full seasons, Murphree has battled persistent back pain. Some days, it’s a simple annoyance lingering in the background. Some days, it hinders her motion, making her movements stiffer than she’d like.

On Thursday, it kept her off the court for what almost became the final game of her career.

“You manage it, but being an athlete you’re going to have bumps and bruises and you’re going to fight through that,” Murphree said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

Texas Tech’s 80-77 win against Houston bought Murphree another opportunity to hit the court. The Lady Raiders will play again early next week, and Murphree hopes to suit up rather than watching the game while wearing street clothes and sitting on the far end of the bench.

Murphree’s career has been as erratic as her pain. She came to Tech as a McDonald’s All-American, and if she never scores another point will leave as the school’s 15th all-time scoring leader. Until Thursday, she’d started every game of her senior season.

Yet coach Kristy Curry has called her out after games as needing to contribute more on the court. Murphree followed a career-high 29-point night against Texas on Jan. 16 by going scoreless at Texas A&M a week later. She averages 12.3 points per game but has totaled just 13 in her last two games, not the kind of numbers any player wants to put up as they end a career.

Part of that can be blamed on her back. She injured it in November 2009 and says she’s been a little cautious ever since, knowing the wrong move could lead to a career-ending injury.

Sometimes the pain is tolerable. Sometimes it’s excruciating.

“It’s every type of pain you can think of,” Murphree said. “It’s in my back, and you use your back for most of your core stability, bending over, pushing off, landing, every type of activity. You don’t realize how much you use your back.”

But is it as painful as watching your last college game from the bench? Murphree said after the game that she put faith in her teammates, knowing they’d pull off the win to help her continue her career. That’s a nice thing to say, particularly after it happens. But how hard must it be to stand on the sidelines, knowing four years could end with a first-round loss in a second-tier tournament, all because the pain became too much to bear?

No rec league player likes that prospect. Think how much harder it is in Big 12 Conference basketball.

Freshman Christine Hyde, who led Tech with 16 points, said after the game that she feared Murphree would feel guilty if the Lady Raiders lost without her on the court.

“I didn’t want her to sit out and feel like we lost the game because she wasn’t there to help us,” Hyde said. “It wasn’t just me. Everybody stepped up and said, ‘Jordan’s out. Let’s play for her and win this game.’”
Which, of course, is what they did. And now, with enough time and a little luck, the pain could subside enough for Murphree to return before the second round starts.

“You definitely want to be on that court,” Murphree said, “but you’ve got to think your team has your back.”
Even when your back doesn’t.

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Tickets cost $9 for reserved seats and $4 for Texas Tech students.

The game will not be televised.

Tickets are available by calling (806) 742-TECH or on the Web at texastech.com.

For the second time in the first round National Invitation Tournament game, Seton Hall forward Herb Pope had struck Cohadarevic below the belt, sending him to the floor. And for the second time in two weeks, officials ejected an opposing player for punching a Texas Tech athlete.

Good grief this story line is getting tired.

Linehan

College basketball is known for its physicality; athletes who don’t want regular incidental and frequent intentional contact know to stick with track or golf. But what is with the onslaught of intentional fouls? Is this type of thing on the rise?

It certainly looks that way, particularly given Tuesday night’s events. Not long after Pope’s attack on Cohadarevic, a similar fist-to-groin incident occurred in the Mississippi State-Jackson State NIT game.

Kansas forward Markieff Morris, left, is fouled by Texas Tech forward Darko Cohadarevic while driving to the basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference men's tournament, Thursday, March 11, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. Kansas won 80-68. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Jackson State’s Phillip Williams assaulted Mississippi State’s Dee Bost on the court, with ESPN cameras clearly capturing the thrust as Williams threw a fist at Bost’s groin. Twice in one night athletes gave up on playing tough — but at least clean — defense, and instead resorted to violence.

The defense, of course, is that these players are provoked. That was many fans’ argument after Baylor’s Brittney Griner slugged Lady Raider Jordan Barncastle on March 3. In fairness, Barncastle committed a foul against Griner immediately preceding that punch. But I’ve seen similar offenses in other basketball games
played by both men and women, and never was the response so violent.

Similarly, Pope reportedly claimed that socking Cohadarevic was simply a response to the Tech player hitting him in the head earlier in the game. That move, like Pope’s first punch, apparently went unnoticed by the officiating staff.

There are two realities at work here. First is that post play has undoubtedly gotten more physical as the athletes themselves have had more physical presence to work with. The typical college center is no longer 6-foot-7 and 185 pounds; wait, I take that back, the typical men’s basketball center doesn’t meet those measurements. But just as Griner supporters love to herald her as changing the face of women’s basketball, she’s also changing the size, making post play more physical and intense.

That can also be seen on the men’s side, where two games really unfold on the court: a shoot-out between guards, who play little off-ball defense, and a wrestling match among post players jockeying for position under the basket.

But just as much as the athletes have gotten more physical, it seems the officials are letting them get away with more contact. “Letting them play” is basketball speak for not calling ticky-tack fouls, and while I appreciate the pace that version of officiating provides, it sets a precedent that athletes may take liberties with how ethically they defend opponents.

Griner and Barncastle had an extremely physical battle going throughout much of that game leading up to the punch, and no doubt officials could have done more to rein it in.

Cohadarevic said after the Seton Hall game that when he complained about Pope’s first punch, one official told him to stop whining.

Coaches will never stop recruiting big, strong, aggressive athletes because those same athletes are the reason they win games. Therefore it falls on officiating crews to set the tone not only in single games but across leagues that they will not tolerate figurative or literal below-the-belt shots.

Twice this month Texas Tech basketball has made national headlines not for winning games, but for taking blows. Good for the Raiders for not committing the crimes, but I’m done using boxing analogies to describe basketball games.

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Media relations representative Randy Farley confirmed Wednesday afternoon that athletic director Gerald Myers has not yet recieved information regarding the day and time of the game, but expects to host at United Spirit Arena.

Myers anticipates the call to come later Wednesday evening or early Thursday.

Texas Tech was seeded fifth in the NIT after finishing its season 17-15. It traveled to New Jersey for the first round, defeating fourth-seeded Seton Hall 87-69 in Newark, N.J.

Tech will host Jacksonville, which as the No. 8 seed upset No. 1 seeded Arizona State on Tuesday with a buzzer-beating banked 3-point shot.

Tech got a big boost early in the first half, when Seton Hall’s Herb Pope was ejected. Pope was called for an intentional foul after punching Darko Cohadarevic in the groin.

Tech then went on a 13-0 run, building a lead Seton Hall could not overcome.

Point guard John Roberson led Tech with 22 points. Mike Singletary had 13, and Cohadarevic and D’walyn Roberts added 12 each.

Seton Hall got 23 points from forward Jeff Robinson.

Tech (18-15) will face the winner of Arizona State-Jacksonville in the NIT second round later this week.

Seton Hall's Herb Pope (15) battles for the ball with Rutgers' Hamady Ndiaye during a game this season. Seton Hall, coached by Bobby Gonzalez, below, will host Texas Tech tonight in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. (AP)

“They have a good center who was at New Mexico State, Herb Pope, and it kind of revolves around him,” Knight said. “They full-court trap and look to push the ball up. It’s nothing we haven’t gone against this year.”

That’s fortunate for the Red Raiders (17-15), who hit the road as the No. 5 seed playing at No. 4 seed Seton Hall at 8 p.m. today in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament. If they win, the Raiders could go on to a matchup with No. 1 seed Arizona State later this week. But the Red Raiders, who’ve struggled on the road this year, aren’t eager to look past their Big East opponent.

“We haven’t paid much attention to the rest of the bracket,” Knight said. “We just know for us to get to (the NIT Final Four in) New York, we’re going to have to play three road games and that’s going to be quite a thing for us.”

Seton Hall's Herb Pope (15) battles for the ball with Rutgers' Hamady Ndiaye during a game this season. Seton Hall, coached by Bobby Gonzalez, will host Texas Tech tonight in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Tech is 3-9 on the road this year, with two of those wins coming during the nonconference portion of the schedule. Its only road win in the last three months was a 72-71 win at Oklahoma on Feb. 9.

Its only neutral site games were last week’s Big 12 tournament contests, where Tech went 1-1.

Seton Hall (19-12) also went 1-1 in its conference tournament. It finished 10th in the Big East.

The Pirates thought they might make the NCAA tournament, even gathering to watch the selection show late Sunday afternoon.

“We were basically hoping against hope,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said in a conference call Sunday. “I knew that we needed some crazy things to happen, but the thoughts were unrealistic. I knew we weren’t going to the NCAAs and I didn’t want to set the players up for disappointment.”

Knight might have unintentionally referenced the Pirates when talking about his team’s motivation today. It’s been nearly a month since Tech, which ended its regular season with seven consecutive losses, had any chance at the NCAA tournament.

But as soon as the NIT became their goal, Knight said his players became equally excited about proving themselves there.

“It means something to me and the program just to show we’re headed in the right direction, and these kids are ecstatic,” Knight said. “I know there are some teams that are disappointed they didn’t make the NCAA and they’ll play that way, but not our guys. Our guys are excited to have this opportunity.”

Pope, that critical post player Knight referenced, averages 11.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Seton Hall will be without junior forward Robert Mitchell, who was kicked off the team on Sunday for undisclosed reasons. Mitchell averaged 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, with 15 starts this season.

The Pirates’ leading scorer is guard Jeremy Hazell, who puts up 20.9 points per game.

Although Seton Hall is 13-4 at home this season, with two of its four losses coming against top 10-ranked teams, Tech senior Nick Okorie said he is used to feeding off that underdog status.

“I love road games,” Okorie said. “I don’t know how other guys on the team feel about them, but when other guys talk smack to me it gets me more hyped up than playing here.”

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