Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
22-9,12-6Big 12
BYU
21-10,9-9Big 12
No. 10 Tech takes loss at BYU to close regular season
March 08, 2026 | Men's Basketball
PROVO, Utah – Christian Anderson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 75-all with 1:46 remaining but BYU would close on a 7-1 run to take an 82-76 win over No. 10 Texas Tech in the regular-season finale on Saturday at the Marriott Center. The Red Raiders (22-9, 12-6 Big 12) finished the regular season tied for third place in the conference standings and earned a double-bye for next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament where they will be the fourth seed and open their postseason play at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday against either Iowa State, Arizona State or Baylor.
In a game with nine lead changes and four ties, Texas Tech went 16-for-35 (45.7%) on 3-pointers but couldn't overcome the Cougars (21-10, 9-9 Big 12) who had 20 offensive rebounds and finished the game with a 48-14 scoring advantage in the paint. Tech and BYU split their two games this season with the Red Raiders earning an 84-71 win in Lubbock on January 17 before the Cougars claimed the regular-season finale.
"They haven't been playing their best basketball but I thought they had a second half where they played great," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "This environment really made a difference in this game. I love our team and love what we can be, but when you give up 20 offensive rebounds and get crushed in the paint like we did today, it's going to be hard to win. This was a real game against a great team that I thought found their edge tonight in a physical way. They didn't shoot it great early but they didn't looked discouraged and their switch ability caused us problems. What they did on the glass was the difference."
Anderson led the Red Raiders with 23 points and nine assists in a game where he became the program's single-season assist leader. Anderson, who was 6-for-12 on 3-pointers, now has 233 assists this season to pass Elijah Hawkins who set the record last season with 226. Donovan Atwell also scored 23 points and made six 3-pointers to extend his new program record to 121 made 3-pointers this season. He finished Big 12 play with 81 made 3-pointers, setting a new Big 12 record that was previously held by Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) since the 2015-16 season. Atwell was 6-for-13 on 3-pointers in the game against BYU and also had six rebounds and two assists. Jaylen Petty added 14 points with two 3-pointers while LeJuan Watts had seven points and seven rebounds. Along with setting the assists record, Anderson now has 103 made 3-pointers this season which is second in program history behind only Atwell going into the postseason – a record previously held by Cory Carr with 94 in the 1996-97 season.
Atwell's sixth 3-pointer of the game gave the Red Raiders a 64-60 lead before the Cougars went on a 15-2 run and led 75-66 with four minutes remaining. LeJuan Watts would stop a 9-0 run with a runner in the lane and then hit two free throws to cut the deficit to five. Anderson followed with a jumper and then his 3-pointer to tie the game before the Cougars responded with a Kennard Davis 3-pointer to retake the lead that they wouldn't give back.
Robert Wright led BYU with 27 points, including going 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, while AJ Dybantsa had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. Davis added 16 points and led the Cougars with four 3-pointers. BYU finished the game shooting just 6-for-26 on 3-pointers but were 14-of-19 at the free-throw line while Tech was only 6-of-8. The Red Raiders were out-rebounded 40-35 and had only 12 offensive rebounds while the Cougars grabbed their 20. Keba Keita led BYU with 11 rebounds, including six offensive, while adding nine points.
Texas Tech took a 46-38 lead into halftime after going 12-for-19 on 3-pointers in the first half. Anderson led Tech with five 3s, six assists and also had four rebounds while Atwell was 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and had 14 points and five rebounds. Petty went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc to add eight points while Moseley made one and led the reserves with five points. Anderson was 5-for-8 on 3-pointers at the break for the Red Raiders who were at 63.2% from beyond the arc going into the locker room. The 12 3-pointers at halftime were only two behind the program record of 14 3-pointers made in the first half earlier this season at Baylor. Anderson made Tech's first 3 for a 3-0 lead and Atwell's first gave the Red Raiders an early 6-5 lead. Anderson's third, which was his 100th of the season, gave the Red Raiders a 17-10 lead and Moseley's 3-pointer came off an Anderson assist that gave him the single-season program record and Tech a 31-18 lead. Petty's first 3-pointer pushed the lead to 40-29 while his second gave Tech a 46-35 lead. BYU went into the break shooting 5-for-18 on 3-pointers and was led by Davis who had 13 points and Dybantsa who had 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting in the first half. Tech and BYU matched each other with 19 rebounds each while the Cougars owned an 11-0 scoring advantage off turnovers.
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