No. 14 Texas Tech survives Oklahoma 56-55 in Big 12 semis

Updated Mar. 11, 2022 11:55 p.m. ET

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Clarence Nagolny made his only points of the night on go-ahead foul shots with less than a minute left and No. 14 Texas Tech escaped with a 56-55 victory over Oklahoma on Friday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.

Jacob Groves was at the foul line for Oklahoma with 7.5 seconds left, and missed the second of two that would have tied the game.

Davion Warren and Kevin Obanor scored 11 points apiece to lead the third-seeded Red Raiders (24-8), who are headed to the title game under first-year coach Mark Adams and in search of their first tournament championship.

They'll face sixth-ranked Kansas, the tournament's top seed, on Saturday night.

Umoji Gibson had 16 points, Jordan Goldwire had 15 and Jalen Hill 13 for the Sooners (18-15), who are now left to sweat out Selection Sunday. Many believed they needed another win after upsetting third-ranked Baylor to feel secure.

They had a chance to get it Friday night, too.

Texas Tech was leading 56-54 and Kevin McCullar missed a chance to put the game away when he didn't make the front end of a one-and-one with 29 seconds left. After a couple timeouts, the Sooners got the ball to Hill, whose driving layup bounced off the glass and into a rebound scrum. A whistle was called on Nagolny, sending Groves to the line.

He made the first, but the second caromed into the backcourt, and Gibson turned the ball over while making a desperation drive to the basket before time expired.

The Sooners roared into the semifinals by upsetting of third-ranked Baylor, while the Red Raiders were nearly perfect in a 72-41 win over Iowa State that set the school record for largest margin of victory in the Big 12 tourney.

Neither team seemed to carry a whole lot of that momentum into Friday night. Instead, they played a physical, slow-paced first half in which neither team easily gained separation. Texas Tech twice had its lead to eight before Oklahoma fought back, relying on 11 first-half points from Hill to keep it close.

It wasn't until Obanor hit back-to-back 3s with about 4 minutes to go that the Red Raiders began to pull away, and Adonis Arms knocked down a pair of free throws to send third-seeded Texas Tech into halftime with a 37-26 lead.

It eventually reached 40-26 before the Sooners mounted a charge.

Over a span of 7 1/2 scoreless minutes, Texas Tech missed eight shots, committed three turnovers and watched the shot-clock expire once. Oklahoma responded with a 14-0 run, which Gibson capped with a deep jumper from the top of the key to give give the Sooners a 45-44 lead — their first since it was 3-2 in the opening minutes.

Then it was Texas Tech's turn to answer: Gibson missed an ill-advised 3-pointer that turned into a runout and an easy basket for Warren, then Obanor and Warren scored twice more in transition to give the Red Raiders the lead back.

It was tied twice down the stretch, including 54-all heading into the final minute.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: Helped its NCAA Tournament hopes by beating Baylor, and their performance against the Red Raiders certainly won't hurt their cause. But while some of the advanced metrics favor the Sooners for the field of 68, their win-loss record alone will give the selection committee reason to debate.

Texas Tech: Lost to Oklahoma State in 2005 in its only other Big 12 title game appearance. That game was played at the old Kemper Arena in Kansas City, and featured a couple Hall of Fame coaches in Bob Knight and Eddie Sutton.

UP NEXT

The Red Raiders meet the Jayhawks for the Big 12 title. Texas Tech won the matchup in Lubbock in early January and Kansas returned the favor in double overtime when the teams met at Allen Fieldhouse.

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