The Red Raiders have never fared well when playing in
Austin, especially in the Rick Barnes era, as Texas Tech entered Saturday’s
meeting with Texas dropping its last 15 meetings when playing in the Frank
Erwin Center.
There was nothing the Red Raiders (7-15, 0-10 in Big 12
Conference Play) could do to put a stop to that skid as the Longhorns rolled
their way to a 74-57 win.
Texas (14-9, 4-6) came out of the gates and put the throttle
down jumping out to a 7-0 lead before Tech was able to respond.
“It was a tough loss,” Tech head coach Billy Gillispie said.
“Texas played really well. They came out and set the tone offensively and
defensively, especially with eight blocks the first half. We were not able to
give them any kind of resistance inside. We could not score at all inside when
we got the ball in there, and we definitely could not stop them from scoring.”
The Longhorns continued to pour it on as turnovers and
missed opportunities by the Red Raiders fueled the Texas offense.
Unlike the previous games for the Longhorns where they have
struggled getting the lead and holding it, leading to five losses in their last
six games, Texas never looked back in this contest.
Despite Texas jumping out to a quick lead, the Red Raiders
seemed to show some fight as with 10 minutes and 52 seconds left in the first
half, Tech cut the lead down to just nine, 19-10. This would mark the last time
the Red Raiders would trail by less than 10 points in the game.
Texas would go on a 9-2 run after this, all their points
coming off of free throws and mainly from the hands of senior Clint Chapman.
Chapman finished the game going 8-for-8 from the free-throw
line, which contributed to his career night of 20 points and nine rebounds - Chapman’s
previous high was 19 points in a loss against Iowa State on January 4.
Everything was working for him, Chapman said following the
game, and the speed of the game was working to his advantage.
“A lot of my stuff came in flow (of the offense),” he said.
“I was able to knock down free throws. That’s something I have a lot of pride
in. Finally, in the second half I started finishing buckets. When it comes out
of the offense, our guards make it so easy. You really don’t have to think
about it.”
Behind his play and J’Cavon
Brown’s, who finished with 11 in the first half and 17 for the game, Texas was
able to put Tech in its rear-view mirror with a 40-25 lead at halftime.
Nothing really changed out of the locker room for the Red
Raiders, while the Longhorns continued to do what was working and extended
their lead as they opened the second half on yet another run, this time 12-6.
Texas would eventually extend its lead to 25 with nine
minutes left in regulation, but the Red Raiders were able to fight back a
little with some offensive runs of their own but it was little to late for a
team that has struggled in conference play all season.
The Longhorns would put the finishing touches on a 74-57
beating courtesy of a Brown jumper with 2:07 left in the game.
“I think in the first half our players showed great respect
for Texas Tech,” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said. “When you watch them on
tape, they battle and they play hard. They’re not going to quit playing. I give
Coach (Billy) Gillispie a lot of credit. Like everybody in our league they’ve continued
to get better. Early in the game I thought we really played well. The things
that we talked about in our scouting report, our players really worked hard
trying to accomplish. Offensively, we’re doing the things that we’ve worked
on.”
The Red Raiders will try and right the ship against the
Wildcats on Tuesday in Manhattan, Kansas, who they lost to at home earlier this
season 69-47.
Tech and Kansas State first tip is set for 7 p.m. and can be
seen on the Big 12 Network.