RECAP: No. 14 Red Raiders 91, No. 12 Kansas 62

Saturday, February 23

Lubbock, Texas

7 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 12 Kansas

RECAP: No. 14 Red Raiders 91, No. 12 Kansas 62

February 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS BIG 12 STANDINGS PRESS CONFERENCE: Coach Beard

LUBBOCK, Texas – Jarrett Culver went for 26 points, Norense Odiase had 13 rebounds and No. 14 Texas Tech matched a program record by hitting 16 3-pointers in a 91-62 Big 12 Conference win over No. 12 Kansas on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) led by 25 points at halftime after knocking down nine 3-pointers and put the game away in the second half by shooting 68 percent from the field, including going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. Tech, which improved to 15-1 at home this season, has now won five straight games with all wins coming in double-figures and by a 25-point scoring margin.

"If we shoot the ball like this, we could beat anybody in the country – but you can't always count on that," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "I think it's a combination of two things: Kansas didn't play one of their better games and we played maybe our best game. But you have to give our guys a lot of credit, we're the reason we played well and we're some of the reason they didn't play their best. Every guy on our team tonight shot 50% or higher, we had a low turnover game, we outrebounded them, and tonight we played as well as we could."

The win over KU evened the season-series with the Jayhawks (20-7, 9-5 Big 12) who won 79-63 on Feb. 2 in Lawrence. Tech, which snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Jayhawks in Lubbock, finished the game with only eight turnovers, owned a 30-23 rebounding margin advantage and shot 60.7 percent from the field.

"We had a low turnover game tonight," said Beard, who is 48-5 at home in his three seasons leading the Red Raiders. "Even on night's we don't shoot it great, if you don't turn it over, you get more shot attempts. I thought our guys did great tonight with solid ball handling and good decision making for the most part. A low turnover game against Kansas gives us a chance."

Texas Tech will return to action at 6 p.m. on Wednesday when it hosts Oklahoma State (10-17, 3-11 Big 12) at the USA. OSU is coming off an 85-46 loss to conference-leading Kansas State on Saturday and is 1-4 in its last five games, including a 78-50 loss to the Red Raiders on Feb. 13 in Stillwater. The Wildcats improved to 21-6 overall and to 11-3 in Big 12 play with the win.

Culver matched his career's conference-high after he made 10 field goals, including three 3-pointers and has now scored 901 points in his career. Matt Mooney and Davide Moretti also had three 3-pointers in the game and Odiase added eight points and matched his career-high with the 13 rebounds that included four offensive rebounds. Tech finished the 29-point win with four players scoring in double-figures with Mooney going for 13 points and leading the team with six assists. Tariq Owens added 10 points and kept his streak of blocked shots going with one in the game, while Moretti was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and five assists. Moretti is now 14-for-25 in the past four games on 3-pointers and now leads the team with 50 on the season.

Brandone Francis also made three 3-pointers and finished with nine points, while Kyler Edwards and Deshawn Corprew hit two each. Edwards finished with eight points, while Corprew contributed six after going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc to give the Red Raiders six players who made two or more 3-pointers in the game.

"It's always good to see the ball go in as much work as you put in," Culver said. "Everybody in our program works hard, and we work hard every day. So, just to see the results is always good."

During the five-game streak of wins over West Virginia (81-50), Oklahoma (66-54), Oklahoma State (78-50), Baylor (86-62) and now KU, TTU has made 58 3-pointers at a 46.8 percentage. The team is 40-for-80 in the past three games on 3-pointers, including Moretti shooting 10-for-16 and Mooney at 9-for-12 from beyond the arc in those games. Culver has made eight during the stretch and matched his Big 12 scoring high with the 26 that he also had last year at West Virginia. He'd also add four assists in the win over KU. Mooney now has five games with six assists this season, while Moretti added five assists in a game where the Red Raiders had 19 assists on 34 field goals.

Texas Tech led wire-to-wire after starting the game with the first five points, took a double-digit lead for the first time six minutes into the game on a Mooney 3-pointer and went on an 11-0 run that took the advantage to 42-17 with three minutes remaining in the first half. The Red Raiders led by as many as 33 points in the game at 83-50 on another Mooney 3-pointer. KU, which led by 20 at halftime in its win earlier this month, committed 13 turnovers and shot 45.8 percent from the field. The Jayhawks made nine 3-pointers in the game after making 13 in the first meeting against the Red Raiders.

The 16 3-pointers came after they had hit 12 in the wins over Baylor and Oklahoma State last week and matched the program record that was also accomplished against UNC-Asheville in 2004 and New Mexico State in 1996.

Dedric Lawson led the Jayhawks with 14 points and five rebounds, while Marcus Garrett and Charlie Moore had nine each. KU is now 2-7 on the road this season going into a Monday night game against Kansas State.

Tech's 91 points were the most it has scored against Kansas in 41 games in the all-time series and the second time this season the Red Raiders have scored 90 or more points (93 vs. Northern Colorado). It was also the most points scored in a Big 12 game since a 92-83 win over Iowa State on Jan. 26, 2011. TTU is now 2-2 against ranked opponents this season after its largest margin of victory against a ranked team since a 77-53 win over a No. 18-ranked Baylor team in 2017.

Let's. Go. #4To1

??#WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/8GOIA5S4y6
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 24, 2019

Brought it back. ???????

Why play anywhere else? ?????#4To1

??#WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/xx32T9Cmv8
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 24, 2019

Another night with some big plays and big buckets off the bench. ??#4To1

??#WreckEm?? pic.twitter.com/Ofbl22BtNi
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 24, 2019

QUOTES

Chris Beard

Opening statement:
"We have a lot of respect for Kansas' program. We've played and coached long enough, and nights like this happen. We played great, but it's really a tale of two games – this is kind of what happened to us in Lawrence. They kind of steamrolled us early, so it was kind of a similar game. Obviously, Kansas didn't play the best game tonight, but I think you have to give our guys a lot of credit. We were dialed in and we were really excited about the opportunity to play a meaningful game in late February. Nothing but respect for Kansas' program, but I am very proud of our guys tonight."

On the low number of turnovers:
"We had a low turnover game tonight. Even on night's we don't shoot it great, if you don't turn it over, you get more shot attempts. I thought our guys did great tonight with solid ball handling and good decision making for the most part. A low turnover game against Kansas gives us a chance."

On Norense's game play tonight:
"Norense puts a lot of time into his game and he's one of the best players in the Big 12. He's been around a long time and tonight he was the best rebounder on the court, which says a lot when you are playing against Kansas and their talent. I am super proud of Norense."

On not letting Kansas lead in the game:
"It was just one of those nights. We played about as well as you could possibly play. We needed this night against Villanova, and we would have been in San Antonio. This is basketball and some nights you play great. If we shoot the ball like this, we could beat anybody in the country – but you can't always count on that. I think it's a combination of two things: Kansas didn't play one of their better games and we played maybe our best game. But you have to give our guys a lot of credit, we're the reason we played well and we're some of the reason they didn't play their best. Every guy on our team tonight shot 50% or higher, we had a low turnover game, we outrebounded them, and tonight we played as well as we could. In the second half, when you have a lead like that, you're just trying to hang on. I was pleased to win the first four-minute game in the second half and that gave us a chance to kind of hang on."

On the mindset at halftime:
"We just rely on our experience and we watch a lot of film. We show our guys big comebacks, big leads, and sometimes where technical fouls can cost you a championship. Sometimes we say, 'Come on guys, we've seen this before,' where teams like Kansas come back and win games like this. On the other side, we need to make sure this isn't the first story on SportsCenter tonight in a bad way. We just pretend to make the scoreboard 0-0. We tried to do this in Lawrence, but we couldn't just get a basket. When you have a veteran team like we do, four seniors, it is not like we were jumping up and down at half time. We are sitting there poised and concerned because when you're playing against one of the best teams in the country and a hall of fame coach, it's not over until the buzzard sounds."

On the big win:
"We want to be a part of the fight. To me, the fight starts about right now. If you make the tournament, you're either a part of the fight or you're not. The last three years, we have been a part of the fight. I am just proud of our guys. We have a lot of belief in our locker room that we are good enough to compete and so now it is a four-game season. The biggest game on our schedule is Wednesday night. With that being said, I just want to acknowledge the awesome crowd. The season ticket holders have been great all year and students really came out in force tonight. Just as we build the program, nights like tonight are special and we don't take them for granted. Get the word out so we can have a crowd like we did tonight."

JARRETT CULVER
On Norense's and Tariq's rebounding ability in the game:
"They were big for us. We're always on them about getting rebounds, crashing the board's hard and this is exactly what they did.. They were crashing hard every time and they played their role."

On making the 3-point shots:
"It's always good to see the ball go in as much work as you put in. Everybody in our program works hard, and we work hard every day. So, just to see the results is always good."

On the difference offensively between Culver's game in Lawrence versus tonight:
"Just staying aggressive and staying the process. I work hard every day and I know it's going to fall. Some nights it's not, but some nights it is, and tonight was one of those nights."

On the team's difference in game play between the last game in Lawrence versus tonight:
"They got on us early when we were down there and didn't look back. I just feel like that's what we did tonight. We kind of started off great and didn't turn around. They're a great team and we have much respect for Kansas. I just feel like we got off to a great start and didn't look back."