ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BOOK EDITORS
Carlos Silva Jr., Sports Editor
Doug Hensley, Regional Associate Editor
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Brad Tollefson, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Nirmal Majumdar, The Ames Tribune
WRITER
Matt Dotray, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
COLUMNIST
Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
ON THE FRONT COVER: Texas Tech players and head coach Chris Beard celebrate after the Red Raiders defeated Gonzaga in an Elite Eight game March 30 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. With the win, Texas Tech advanced to the program’s first-ever Elite Eight. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
Copyright © 2019 by Lubbock Avalanche-Journal All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-1-59725-864-7
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.
Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com. Designed in the United States of America. Printed in Canada.
This book is an unofficial account of the Red Raiders’ 2018–19 season and is not endorsed by the NCAA.
DEFENSE.
It Takes Effort. Grit. Intensity. Commitment.
There’s No Press. No Zone.
Just a Half Court of Fury. Blocks. Charges. Deflections.
A Five-Man Wrecking Crew.
These are Our Boys. This is Their Time. Wreck ‘Em.
A TEAM, A GAME WE’LL TALK ABOUT FOREVER
APRIL 9, 2019 •
BY DON WILLIAMS/A-J MEDIA
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will come home from Minneapolis on Tuesday not as champions, but as the next best thing: Texas Tech legends.
The dreams of a team, a campus, a city and I daresay a basketball title-starved state died Monday night in front of 72,000 screaming fans in an NFL stadium, Virginia’s 85-77 overtime victory denying the Red Raiders their first national championship. Years from now, you’ll
remember where you were on that Monday night, feel the pain all over again, swell with pride regardless.
You’ll trade anguished stories with the fella you bump into wearing the Techemblem polo. Shared laments about how the Red Raiders would have won that title had shot-blocker deluxe Tariq Owens not suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Final Four that compromised him playing for all the marbles two nights later. About how
he took treatment non-stop for 48 hours, went out there and gave it a go anyway.
You’ll recite details to kids and grandkids that, even with Owens on a bad wheel, even with the Red Raiders trailing most of the game, even with All-American Jarrett Culver struggling to carry the hopes of his hometown on his shoulders, Chris Beard’s guys made one last charge.
Contributions came from all over. With Tech’s top dog struggling, Brandone
Francis helped a buddy out and scored 17 points. Lighten up, Francis, the Cavaliers had to be thinking, when the Dominican guard heated up from long range. Davide Moretti showed up again, and freshman Kyler Edwards had his moments.
The Red Raiders were down 10 in the second half, dead by all appearances, the spirit of the 4:1 extinguished, but here they came again, undaunted.
And the pain will surface all over again
as you recall how the Red Raiders grasped their glory and had it melt in their hands. They were that close and couldn’t close it out.
Not after Culver slipped past a defender for a left-handed layup with 35 seconds left in regulation, thrusting Tech in front for the first time in the second half. Not after man mountain Norense Odiase made both ends of a one-and-one for a 68-65 lead and the clock down to 22 seconds.
Not after super-duper import Matt
Mooney swished a go-ahead 3, then reluctantly rose up amid three defenders and got a little shot to fall underneath that made it 73-70 Tech with three minutes from the finish line in overtime. That Moon Swag, you’ll say with a knowing nod to those who watched him, he was the man in Minneapolis, right?
You’ll remember that Virginia swingman De’Andre Hunter made the 3 that sank
LEFT: Texas Tech’s Parker Hicks (right) consoles teammate Davide Moretti after the Red Raiders dropped an 85-77 decision to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament national championship game April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard claps after a foul was called during the NCAA Tournament national championship game April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
RIGHT: Texas Tech’s Brandone Francis (1) yells out after the Red Raiders dropped an 85-77 decision to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament national championship game April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech coach Chris Beard celebrates on the court with the fans after an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma, Jan. 8, 2019, in Lubbock, Texas. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
Tech for keeps — that was his fourth from long range — and it’ll feel like it was his 10th. And you’ll tell the young-’uns that a healthy Owens would have gotten to some of those. Heck, at least one.
The hurt will subside, and in its place will go the names. Go down the list. Owens and Odiase. Culver, Mooney and Moretti. Tech royalty, all.
Twenty, 30 years down the road, they’ll come strollin’ back into the old town for a reunion, be celebrated one more time at United Supermarkets Arena. Feel the
appreciative roar wash over them like back in ’19.
If Tech’s lucky, a graying-but-still fiery Chris Beard will turn to his latest crop of Red Raiders and explain how those are some of the guys who got it all started. They opened eyes to what Texas Tech basketball could be.
The gravity of this surreal ride hit me
Saturday night after the Red Raiders KO’ed Michigan State in the Final Four. Tech was going to be the first men’s basketball program from Texas since Phi
Slama Jama to play for the national title, with a chance to be the first men’s national champion from the Lone Star State since Texas Western’s game-changing Glory Road team in 1966.
That elevates the Red Raiders, even in defeat. You can put them in the same sentence not with names of other universities, but with legendary teams known by sobriquets.
The basketball world will move on. Around here, these guys, this night will be remembered forever.
REGULAR SEASON
LEFT: Texas Tech’s Norense Odiase (32) dunks the ball during the second half of a Throwback Game against Abilene Christian back on Dec. 15, 2018 at Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. It marked the final men’s basketball game to be played in the venue before it was scheduled to be demolished. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: The starting lineups are announced before a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 8 between Texas Tech and Oklahoma at United Supermarkets Arena. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
LEFT: Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver (23) shoots the ball in front of Oklahoma’s Jamuni McNeace during the first half of a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 8 at United Supermarkets Arena.
BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Oklahoma’s Kristian Doolittle (21) and Texas Tech’s Tariq Owens reach for the ball during the first half of a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 8 at United Supermarkets Arena.
BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
NO. 8 RED RAIDERS DOWN LONGHORNS FOR FIRST WIN IN AUSTIN SINCE ’96
JANUARY 12, 2019
•
BY CARLOS SILVA JR./A-J MEDIA
AUSTIN — Maybe Chris Beard is a soothsayer.
The third-year Texas Tech head coach has maintained the Big 12 Conference schedule will be an 18-round fight.
On Saturday afternoon, the No. 8 Red Raiders were embroiled in their fourthstraight fisticuffs’ matchup against instate rival Texas.
And, as has been the case earlier in the year, Texas Tech has taken its fair share of bumps and bruises early on before coming away with the knockout punch in the second half.
Matt Mooney (22 points), Jarrett Culver (14), Davide Moretti (13) and Tariq Owens (12) provided the four-punch combination as the Red Raiders downed the Longhorns 68-62 inside the Frank Erwin Center.
“Thought our guys played with a lot of poise first half,” Beard said. “We didn’t feel like we were playing our best, but you’ve got to give Texas a lot of credit. Made some adjustments at halftime: give all the players the credit for embracing those. Four guys in double figures and a lowturnover game. And we competed on the boards. This is how I think we won a close game.”
With the win, the Red Raiders (15-1, 4-0) secured their first triumph in Austin since
Feb. 24, 1996 — equating to 22 straight road losses — back when both schools were playing in the old Southwest Conference.
The Longhorns (10-6, 2-2) have lost their last two games in league play.
Mooney led the charge in the second half, scoring the first six points and tallying one steal to help the Red Raiders jump out to a 32-30 advantage at the 18:31 mark.
“I knew every team is game planning on Culver now,” said Mooney, who scored 14 of his season-high 22 points in the second half. “And I knew somebody was going to have to step up. And I had some open looks, and I was able to knock them down. We knew we had to get it going offensively, I think we only had 26 points at half. Coach talked about running a little bit more, driving, getting in the paint: drive and kick and find open shooters.”
The Longhorns struck back with a 5-0 run to put things at 35-34 before Texas Tech took control.
Culver, who had scored six points in the first half, was doubled and passed the ball to a wide-open Owens who dunked with two hands — starting an 8-0 run capped off by Moretti’s four-point play for the 4035 advantage with a little over 15 minutes.
“Culver is really hard matchup,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “And then, I
thought in today’s game, the way that Mooney and Moretti played — anytime you have multiple guards that are attacking and making plays, getting in the paint — it makes it more challenging for you.
“But, again, I thought they (Red Raiders as a whole) made good decisions. That was a big difference in the game. … When they got in the paint, they were poised. They got deep in there, they found Owens. They were able to create some great shots for him. That was really the key for them because other than those four (Mooney, Culver, Moretti, Owens), not a lot of guys scored for them.”
From then on, Texas Tech fended off multiple offensive surges from the defensive-minded Longhorns — including a Jaxson Hays dunk which knotted things up at 48-48 near the eight-minute mark — before Culver answered with a silky-smooth jumper on the other end which sparked a key 7-0 run and 55-48 advantage.
Brandone Francis drained a pair of insurance free throws, which was part of a 7-for-8 effort over the last 46 seconds, to lift the program to its first win in Austin since a Feb. 24, 1996 triumph.
Kerwin Roach II scored 17 points to lead the Longhorns and dished out five assists.
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech’s Tariq Owens (11) blocks a shot by Texas’ Jaxson Hayes during the first half of a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 12 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
15-1
ABOVE RIGHT: Trent Wilson, Sydney Panter and Zach Gfroerer cheer for Texas Tech during a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 12 against Texas at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver (23) falls down while stealing the ball from Texas’ Elijah Mitrou-Long (55) during a Big 12 Conference game Jan. 12 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
Hayes ended the game with 15 points and five rebounds, while Dylan Osetkowski collected nine rebounds and Jase Febres netted 12 points to lead the Longhorns bench scorers.
“They made some great plays during that run,” Smart said of the Red Raiders 7-0 offensive spurt after the game was tied at 48-48. “We didn’t do a good enough job of guarding them, keeping them out the paint. On the offensive end, during that stretch particularly, we just didn’t make good decisions. And that led to use either turning the ball over or not getting as good a shot as we wanted.
“And during that stretch, where we did get a good shot: we didn’t make it. Tech did a good job of making us pay. And their guard really, really managed the game well on their offensive end.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Matt Mooney, Sr., G, Texas Tech
The former South Dakota guard came up big, chipping in eight of his 16 total second-half points in the first four minutes of the second half. Mooney sparked the Red Raiders on the offensive end, scoring a season-high 22 points, which allowed Davide Moretti, Jarrett Culver and Tariq Owens to roam the perimeter and find open shots.
NOTABLE
Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Longhorns had notched three straight home victories over AP top 20 opponents (No. 16 TCU, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 12 Oklahoma) to end last year. … With four blocks in the victory, Tariq Owens increased his games with at least one block streak to 16. He’s collected three or
more swats in six total games including his past three contests. … Jarrett Culver recorded six assists Saturday, marking the third time he’s matched the feat (Northern Colorado and Memphis) which is a season high. … Davide Moretti finished with 13 points, increasing his number of consecutive games in double figures to four. In that span, he’s averaging 14 points and made 10 of 23 (43 percent) shots from the 3-point line.
WHAT’S NEXT
Texas Tech hosts No. 20 Iowa State (12-4, 2-2) at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Cyclones dropped a 58-57 decision to Kansas State at home Saturday. The contest is scheduled to be televised on ESPNU. Texas is scheduled to take on Kansas in an 8 p.m. Monday road contest. The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN. JANUARY 12, 2019
NCAA TOURNAMENT
ABOVE: Texas Tech’s Norense Odiase (32) hugs assistant coach Glynn Cyprien after the Red Raiders defeated Gonzaga on March 30 in an Elite Eight Game of the NCAA Tournament held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
LEFT: Texas Tech’s Matt Mooney (13) tries to steal the ball from Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins (13) during an Elite Eight Game of the NCAA Tournament on March 30 held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech players throw confetti onto head coach Chris Beard after the Red Raiders defeated Gonzaga on March 30 in an Elite Eight Game of the NCAA Tournament held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
‘BEAR OUR BANNERS FAR AND WIDE’ RINGS TRUE FOR SOME TULSA RESIDENTS
MARCH 22, 2019
• BY MATT DOTRAY/A-J MEDIA
There was no road trip necessary for the Texas Tech fans living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Blake Boswell, a 2009 Tech graduate, said he’d been hoping the Tech men’s basketball team would be sent to his new hometown all year. In the end, he got what he wanted when the Red Raiders were selected to play as the No. 3 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a game set for 12:30 p.m. today against No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky.
On Thursday, Boswell was among fans watching Texas Tech’s open practice — a practice that attracted one of the larger attendances in Tulsa.
“This is perfect,” Boswell said. “I’ve been watching the projections thinking, ‘please come to Tulsa.’ So this is awesome. It’s awesome watching where this team has come from to now, where they’re just going to the tournament in consecutive seasons.
It’s been a really fun team to watch.”
Boswell wasn’t alone. The first three fans A-J Media caught up with after Tech’s open practice ended early Thursday afternoon all now live in Tulsa.
“There’s a few of us here, but not a ton,” Boswell said.
Despite living a state away, these fans all said they’ve been following this team all year. It helps when so many games are on national television.
Zach Dietz moved to Tulsa in 2015 after spending 10 years in Lubbock. He brought his three children to Thursday’s open practice, and all were dressed head-to-toe in Tech gear.
“We’re super pumped, this worked out perfect for us,” Dietz said. “I’ve watched every game this year. And we’re bringing friends (to the game) tomorrow, and we’re all Tech fans. There’s been a buzz about
the tournament here for sure, and I’ve been buzzing it up for Tech.”
Lauren Uhrynowycz brought her two children to the practice, all there to root for Tech. Uhrynowycz lived in Tulsa before going to Tech to get her degree, and now she’s back.
“I’ve been watching them this year, yeah,” Uhrynowycz said. “You don’t ever see anything Texas Tech in Tulsa — it’s all OU and OSU — so this is great… and I actually saw a lot more Tech fans than I thought would be here.”
Uhrynowycz, Dietz and Boswell had glowing remarks after watching Tech’s 40-minute practice. Boswell said it looked like the Tech players were having fun.
The three Oklahomans will be cheering for Tech to make a Final Four run.
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech’s Matt Mooney (13) and Northern Kentucky’s Jalen Tate (11) fight for control of the ball during a first-round NCAA Tournament game March 22 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
TEXAS TECH’S SUCCESS
The secrets in the tears
BY CARLOS SILVA JR./A-J MEDIA
MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Beard took a moment to think about the question.
Then, the weight of the moment may have hit him like a right jab from a boxer.
“Just — man,” he started.
Texas Tech’s third-year head coach had tears forming in his eyes, his words came out a little slower while his voice cracked a bit. What had he told his players, someone asked, before they walked off the floor Monday night?
“Just told them I loved them. You know,
our relationship is just getting started,” Beard said. “I’ll be at those guys’ weddings one day and hopefully when their kids get born and do everything I can to talk them out of getting into coaching so they don’t ever feel like this.
“You know, I just love those guys.”
The feeling was reciprocated inside the Red Raiders’ locker room, a melancholy place to say the least after going through the ups and downs of an NCAA Tournament championship game and suffering an
85-77 defeat in front of more than 70,000 fans inside U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I mean, I feel like we’re like a brotherhood,” said freshman guard Kyler Edwards, who turned in his first double figure game (12 points) since December. “I feel like we’re just unbreakable, like, I can’t even, I can’t even talk right now.”
Edwards — along with teammate Brandone Francis, who scored a team-high 17 points — were a large reason the Red Raiders kept pace with Virginia early on.
At one point, the duo made 3-of-3 shots from the field, while the rest of the team went 1-for-11 as it trailed 19-15 with just under eight minutes left in the first half.
“Just the character of this team. We never quit,” Francis said later. “It doesn’t matter what the score is or what we are going through. We’re always going to find a way to get back in the game by playing together. Now that the game is over, I can think of a lot of plays I could have made, my teammates could have made, but I feel like we gave them all they could handle and props to them. They played a better ball game.” Edwards, who has called Francis a big brother and mentor this season, built a relationship with the rest of his teammates throughout the season. Off-season workouts, a retreat in a remote part of West Texas and other team-building activities reinforced those bonds between newcomers and returning players.
LEFT: Patrick Mahomes gets the crowd to yell during the men’s basketball national championship against Virginia April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA
OPPOSITE: Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard speaks to the media after the Red Raiders dropped an 85-77 decision to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament national championship game April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA