No. 10 Texas Tech on defensive at TCU (Feb 03, 2018)
TCU and No. 10 Texas Tech have two of the best offenses in the Big 12 Conference, but it will be defense that decides things when the teams play on Saturday in a key Big 12 Conference showdown at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas Tech heads to Fort Worth after surviving Texas, 73-71, in overtime Wednesday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders got a career-high 38 points from Keenan Evans, who hit the game-winning step-back jumper with one second remaining.
Evans was the only Red Raider who scored in double figures and had double the points of Texas Tech's four other starters combined. Norense Odiase grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Red Raiders in that department.
Evans is the first Texas Tech player to notch back-to-back 30-point games since Andre Emmett accomplished the feat on Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2002.
"Coach (Beard) is always on me about don't be afraid of the moment and go be the man," Evans said. "For that moment, I wanted to be that man for the team. I was paying attention to the clock. I walked up, I was looking across and they weren't in the zone so I made my move."
The win was the third in row for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders (18-4, 6-3 in Big 12 play) improved their winning streak in designated home games to 14-0 this season.
"We were fortunate enough to have the last possession, and then Keenan made a play," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "Every time you win a Big 12 game, you take it in any fashion you can get it.
"I'm proud of our players. It wasn't pretty, but we showed a lot of grit and toughness especially in the first four minutes of the overtime. I'm pleased to win."
Evans scored 21 of his points during the second half and overtime. The 38 points are the most by a Texas Tech player since Mike Singletary racked up 43 points against Texas A&M on March 11, 2009, in the Big 12 Championships.
"We had our best player with the ball with a shot that he can make," Beard said about Evans. "Keenan works on that shot every day. Those are the game winners. The more talented you are the more game shots you have. Keenan is pretty talented, and he has all sorts of stuff in his trick bag."
TCU heads home to Fort Worth after beating Oklahoma State, 79-66, in Stillwater on Tuesday behind a balanced attack led by Alex Robinson's and Kenrich Williams' 13 points each.
Desmond Bane and Kouat Noi added 12 points each for TCU (16-6, 4-5), while Vladmir Brodziansky hit for 10 points for the Horned Frogs, who out-shot Oklahoma State 55.6 percent-41.8 percent while earning a 37-26 rebounding advantage.
It's only the second time that the Horned Frogs have won in Stillwater and the first since 1925. TCU has beaten Oklahoma State only three times since joining the Big 12 in 2013.
"That's wild," Bane said of the time between wins at Oklahoma State. "Since I've gotten here it seems like everything we do is a first. We're just trying to build the program up and leave some tradition behind."
TCU's defensive intensity and execution was crucial in the win, especially in a game that was virtually dead-even statistically after the first half.
"We won this game with our defense," TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. "It's been our weakness, but it seems to be getting better. These are benchmarks for us, and milestones. We can do some good things in the second half of the conference season."
The Horned Frogs' offense and balanced attack are good enough to make them one of the best teams in the loaded Big 12, and they hope make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
But learning from mistakes on the defensive end will really decide exactly how good TCU will be.
"You have to learn through mistakes and losses, and we're seeing that to a degree, especially on the defensive end," Dixon said. "We've lost a lot close games to really good teams.
"We're good. We expected to have a better record at this point, but we haven't deserved it, we haven't played (up to that). So hopefully we made some improvement, we've figured some things out and gotten better."
