Texas Shocks Tech To Survive & Advance in Big 12 Tournament

The Texas Longhorns somehow found a way to beat Texas Tech Wednesday night in the First Round of the Big 12 tournament.

Texas Basketball looked completely finished in the first half. But, the Longhorns doubled their point total in the second half to win 61-52 against Texas Tech in Kansas City.

It looked like Texas’ season was going to end without a single win away from Austin this season. They were one of only four major college basketball teams to not win a true road game during the regular season.

But, something changed in the last 10 minutes of the game for Texas to pull off a 30-10 run and win by 9 points.

On offense, shots finally started to fall. On defense, Texas went to a 2-3 zone and Tech could not find any rhythm offensively. Also, Texas got key loose balls from hustle man Kendal Yancy, who we identified as one of the key players for Texas to survive and advance in the Big 12 tournament.

It was a stunning turnaround for Texas, which entered the Big 12 tournament as the #10 seed after finishing in last place in the conference. Now, the Horns advance to the Quarterfinals to face West Virginia on Thursday night.

Asked what changed in the second half to get Texas over the hump, head coach Shaka Smart said guys decided they had nothing to lose. So, why not play hard and see what happens?

"“I told them, ‘There’s no choice. What else do you have to do other than fly around and compete? Let loose a little bit.’ I think our guys are so hard on themselves when they miss shots. Sometimes they get bummed out. But, you gotta keep playing. I told them some balls are going to start going in. We didn’t shoot great, but we shot a lot better.” – Shaka Smart post-game on the ESPNU broadcast"

Texas Basketball Awful In First Half; Responds in Final Minute

Texas Basketball was just awful in the first half. The Horns only scored 15 points in the first 19 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Texas Baseball put up 15 runs in their home game Wednesday.

But, Tech was unable to take advantage of the Longhorns shooting only 28 percent from the field in the first half. And, there was a huge sequence in the final minute.

Texas Tech was up 26-15 with one minute left when Andrew Jones made a three-pointer. It was Texas’ first made three of the half after missing their first 11 attempts.

Then, Texas got a stop, Jones missed a three, but Tech players collided on the rebound, the ball came right to Kendal Yancy, and Yancy scored a lay-up just before the buzzer.

Those five points allowed Texas to enter halftime only down 6 at 26-20. Just getting to 20 points felt like a “victory” for the Longhorns.

Second Half Comeback Also A Struggle vs. Texas Tech

Texas came out strong in the second half, but they only got within two points. The Longhorns put forth so much effort just to get within two that when Tech responded with a quick run, it seemed like Texas was done.

Tech even stretched out to an 11-point lead at 42-31 with 10 minutes left in the game. There were just 10 minutes left in Texas’ frustrating and disappointing season. And then things suddenly flipped.

Kerwin Roach made a huge dunk, Texas shifted to the 2-3 zone defense, Yancy got a loose ball put-back, Roach made a three, then another three, Andrew Jones made free throws, and Jarrett Allen put the Longhorns ahead for the first time in the game at 46-44 with five minutes left.

Suddenly, all of the momentum was on Texas’ side, but this was still the 2016-2017 Longhorns team. Too young, too inexperienced, no PG, no victories away from Austin this season. Not a single road or neutral site win. Surely, they would crash, right? [ Game Photo Gallery ]

Mareik Isom Has Biggest Shot of Season

Senior transfer Mareik Isom said he would take care of a year-long struggle to win close games. Texas played the most games within three points in the country, and only went 3-7 in such games.

Isom, who barely played this season because of a lingering foot injury, raised up and nailed an NBA-range three-pointer with three minutes left to give the Longhorns a four-point advantage over Texas Tech.

If Isom missed, Tech had a run-out with a chance to re-take the lead. But, when Isom made his shot, it just seemed like the game was Texas’ to win.

The biggest shot of the season for Texas Basketball led to Tech going into panic mode and not able to make shots that were falling in the first half. Andrew Jones then put the exclamation mark on a remarkable win with a steal and dunk late in the game.

The stats were not pretty for Texas in this game, especially in the first half. But, they somehow found a way to grow up and win this game. It’s a game they would not have won at any other point in the season, but that’s why it’s called March Madness. [ Full Big 12 Tournament Bracket ]

Next: 5 UT Players Who Need To Be Epic In Big 12 Tourney

Now, can Texas Basketball somehow duplicate this against a rested and ferocious West Virginia team on Thursday night? It will be difficult, but Texas played WVU tough in Austin earlier this season. They will need something extra special to make the semi-finals.