Kevin McCullar was not fully fit after missing two games due to an ankle injury. He scored 12 points and made a crucial 3-pointer in the final seconds of Texas Tech's win over Baylor. This was Texas Tech's first loss since last season’s NCAA Tournament. Terrence Shannon, the Red Raiders' leading scorer, is still out of action.
Mark Adams said that Mark Adams was promoted to head coach after Chris Beard left the offseason to become Texas coach. "Very proud of them, and blessed to be their Coach."
Baylor (15-1, 3-1) Big 12 had only lost once at home in the three previous seasons. Last March's Big 12 tournament was the last place where Baylor lost. On their way to their first national championship, the Bears won six NCAA tourney games.
McCullar's 3 from the left corner was their largest lead, at 59-52. They held on to their win with 2:39 remaining. 6 Kansas.
McCullar described the reactions of his teammates to the shot as "everybody was just screaming"
McCullar sat on the bench for 31 minutes. McCullar shot 5-of-8 with six rebounds and five assists. He also had three steals.
Adams stated that Adams played with a lot courage. Adams said, "He played with a lot more heart tonight, and without Kevin's performance we wouldn't have won."
James Akinjo and Adam Flagler each scored 17 points, while James Akinjo had three. The Bears were two short of their Big 12 record of 23 consecutive wins, which they set two seasons ago.
With 22 seconds remaining before the timeout, Davion Warren made 2 free throws for Red Raiders. Akinjo took the final shot. He bobbed the ball at the top, then grabbed it and hit a 3-pointer from the front of the rim.
Baylor was the only Division I team to lose in this season's Division I tournament. The fifth-ranked Southern California (13-1), was undefeated prior to a Stanford 75-69 defeat earlier Tuesday.
"You have to give Texas Tech a lot credit. Scott Drew, Bears coach, said that the Bears did a good job in the first fifteen minutes. Then the Bears finished the second half on a strong run and gained momentum. They carried that momentum into the second half."
The Bears scored nine of the game's initial points quickly and led by 15 points late in the second half. However, things began to change for Texas Tech which defeated Kansas without McCullar or Shannon. Shannon missed six games consecutively due to lingering back spasms.
Adonis Arms scored 14 points for Red Raiders while Kevin Obanor, Bryson Williams and Bryson Williams each had 13. Clarence Nadolny had 11 points.
Flagler made two 3-pointers during Baylor's first stretch. He added another with 6:13 remaining in the first half to give Baylor a 31-16 lead.
Adams stated that "we could have quit in the first ten minutes." "But the guys just kept going and got back into it at halftime and were then able to build some momentum as they played.
After Flagler's fourth 3, Baylor failed to score again. Tech scored 10 points to reduce its halftime deficit from 31-26 to 31-26.
It was extremely frustrating. Akinjo stated that we did not score and also gave up on transitions. "So that was more frustrating then us not scoring."
Ten seconds into the second period, Obanor hit a dunk to start a 7-1 run. Red Raiders tied the game at 33-33 with Williams scoring a three-point play with 18.28 remaining. However, they did not lead until Nadolny's free throw with 9.52 remaining made it 47-46.
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: Texas Tech's Red Raiders won a three-game series against top-11 teams. They lost 51-47 to No. McCullar, Shannon and the other players were not present at Iowa State before the wins. It was the third game in a 10-day span. ... The Red Raiders defeated a No. 1 team for the second time in three years. 1 team. They defeated Louisville, the top-ranked team, 70-57 in a Madison Square Garden game on December 10, 2019.
Baylor: Baylor had won 22 consecutive home games. They also won those by an average margin exceeding 26 points. They had won 34 out of 35. The only loss was to Kansas on February 22, 2020.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech: On Thursday, the Red Raiders will host Oklahoma State in the make-up of a Big 12 opener that was postponed Jan. 1 due to COVID-19 protocols.
Baylor: On Saturday, the Bears will host Oklahoma State.
