Texas Tech was eliminated from the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Championship with a 78-62 loss to West Virginia on Wednesday in a first-round matchup at the T-Mobile Center.
The Red Raiders (16-16) jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game before trailing 43-35 at halftime and by as many as 21 in the second half. WVU (19-13) advances to play top-seed Kansas at 2 p.m. on Thursday in a quarterfinal game. Tech has lost four games in a row following a four-game winning streak.
“If I’m being honest, it’s a lot of weight on these kids right now,” Tech interim head coach Corey Williams said. “They’ve been through a lot in the last week or so. And in some ways, I feel like it caught up with them, and they wanted to win. They gave their best, but once the ball stopped falling in a little bit, it got a little bit tougher. The hill became a lot steeper, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to make up the difference.”
Pop Isaacs led Tech with 15 points with three 3-pointers, while Kevin Obanor and De’Vion Harmon had 14 points each. Tech finished the game 6-for-23 on 3-pointers and committed 15 turnovers. WVU had a 39-35 rebounding advantage and held a 28-22 scoring advantage in the paint. Obanor was 5-for-10 from the field and 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. Jaylon Tyson had six rebounds and five points, while Fardaws Aimaq finished with four points and four rebounds. Isaacs led Tech with four assists while Harmon finished with three assists.
“It means a lot to be a Red Raider,” Obanor said. “I take pride in putting on the jersey, and we fell short. A lot of adversity, and it’s a tough time right now for me, and just got to fall back on your faith and let God just narrate your path and your life.”
Adrian Johnson led WVU with 20 points, while Erik Stevenson had 18 and Emmitt Matthews scored 13. WVU finished the game 9-for-26 on 3-pointers and scored 16 points off turnovers.
WVU took a 43-35 lead into halftime after Tech led by as many as seven in the first half. Harmon led the Red Raiders with 10 points and three assists, while Obanor and Isaacs had eight points each. Tech was only 3-for-9 on 3-pointers in the half with Isaacs hitting two and Obanor making one. The Red Raiders had committed nine turnovers but were shooting 13-for-25 overall from the field. Stevenson led WVU with 13 points in the first half with two 3-pointers, while Johnson had 10 points and Matthews nine. WVU was only shooting 37.1 percent from the field and was just 4-for-13 on 3-pointers but had committed only three turnovers and had a 19-16 rebounding advantage.
WVU went 2-1 against Tech this season with the road teams winning in the regular season.
