Mo Bamba made his return to the court off the bench and Jacob Young’s career-high 29 points weren’t enough to propel Texas to an upset win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Quarterfinals. Texas Tech shot 56.3% from 3-point range and out-rebounded the Longhorns 37-28, which proved to be the difference for head coach Chris Beard’s Red Raiders.
Bamba, who is averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounds this season, finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds. The true freshman missed the last two games of the regular season and the first game of the Big 12 Tournament with a toe injury.
Freshman point guard Matt Coleman had a productive night for the Longhorns, finishing with 20 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Coleman was a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw stripe.
Junior forward Dylan Osetkowski had a quiet evening, scoring just 2 points from 2-9 shooting from the floor.
Texas Tech senior point guard Keenan Evans led the Red Raiders in scoring with 25 points and freshman Jarrett Culver scored 13 points in the victory, which earned the the Red Raiders a trip to the Big 12 Semifinals. Texas Tech will face the winner of the West Virginia vs. Baylor game which takes place later on Thursday evening.
Texas shot 43.1% from the field compared to Texas Tech’s 47.3%. The Longhorns had 7 turnovers in the game while the Red Raiders turned the ball over 10 times.
Selection Sunday is just days away and while it appears the Longhorns have done enough to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, nothing is set in stone until that invitation is official. The Eyes of Texas will be tuning in to TBS on March 11th at 5:00 PM CST, hoping the Longhorns have in fact, done enough to play in the Big Dance.
Has Texas has done enough to earn a spot in the field of 68?
