In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament eight-seed Texas Tech fell to nine-seed Butler 71-61, and the Red Raiders were eliminated from the big dance.
Texas Tech finishes the season (19-13, 9-9 Big 12) while nine-seed Butler advances to play the winner of one-seed Virginia and sixteen-seed Hampton.
The Raiders trailed the Bulldogs 30-28 at the end of the first half.
With 7:34 remaining in regulation Butler controlled their largest lead of the game with a 56-48 advantage following back-to-back three pointers from Butler freshman forward Kelan Martin.
Then with 4:10 left in the game Tech senior guard Devaugntah Williams hit a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Bulldogs lead to only four, 62-58.
However, with 2:29 left in to play Butler junior guard Kellen Dunham knocked down a back-breaking three pointer to build the Bulldogs’ lead to 67-58.
Texas Tech finishes the season (19-13, 9-9 Big 12) while nine-seed Butler advances to play the winner of one-seed Virginia and sixteen-seed Hampton.
It was the little things that ended up dashing the Red Raiders’ chances in the opening round.
After finishing as the Big 12 conference’s leading free throw shooting team, Tech was 4-of-9 (44%) from the line in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
The Raiders were also careless with the basketball at times, turning the ball over 14 different times, which led to 16 Butler points.
Plus, the Raiders allowed Butler to outscore them in transition, the Bulldogs leading Tech 17-2 in fast break points.
Stick with us tonight in Red Raider Nation at 5, 6 and 10 for highlights and post-game reaction.
Update: Texas Tech Athletics Release
Devaugntah Williams poured in a team-leading 18 points off the bench, but the Texas Tech men’s basketball team had its season come to a close with a 71-61 loss to Butler in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament First Round at PNC Arena on the North Carolina State campus.
The Red Raiders (19-13) collected 19 wins, the most for the program since their last NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2006-07 season. Butler (22-10) advances to face top-seed and No. 4 Virginia who was an 81-45 winner over Hampton in Saturday’s second round.
“I certainly want to commend Butler,” Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith said. “They certainly did the things that they had to do. Their defense – they stepped up their defense and made some big shots. I’m really proud of how my guys competed. It’s been a good season, sorry it’s ending.”
For Williams, he tallied 12 of the 18 points during the second half. He was 7-of-14 from the floor and knocked down four of Texas Tech’s seven three-pointers. Williams finished his career with 682 points over his two seasons with the Red Raiders.
Aaron Ross added 10 points and six rebounds. He reached double figures in 14 of his final 18 appearances. The Ross-Williams duo played a major role in Texas Tech scoring 30 of the game’s 36 bench points.
Justin Gray dialed up 10 points, six rebounds and two assists followed by Zach Smith’s eight points, four rebounds and two blocks. The two blocks gives Smith 92 career blocks which is the most in program history for a player’s first two seasons besting Tony Battie who compiled 91 blocks during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
Keenan Evans turned in six points coupled with a career-best seven rebounds and a career-high tying six assists whereas Toddrick Gotcher notched five points in his final game in a Tech uniform. Gotcher capped his career with 952 points aided by 138 three-pointers.
Texas Tech compiled a 25-of-54 shooting effort and knocked down 5-of-18 from three-point territory. The Red Raiders were 4-of-9 at the free throw line. The nine foul shots were a season-low for Tech.
Butler knocked down 25-for-51 from the field and converted on 9-for-17 on three-pointers. The Bulldogs were an efficient 12-for-16 from the charity stripe. Butler garnered a 34-28 rebounding advantage and scored 16 of the game’s 25 points off turnovers.
Kellen Dunham racked up a game-leading 23 points and hit five of Butler’s nine treys. Tyler Wideman chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds followed by Andrew Chrabascz totaled 13 points. Kelan Martin came away with all 11 of his points in the final 10 minutes.
The first 30 minutes featured eight ties and 13 lead changes before Butler ripped off 23 of the contest’s last 36 points. Martin broke a 48-48 tie with a pair of triples on the delayed fastbreak 30 seconds apart and turned a steal into a two-handed dunk to make it 56-48 with 7:34 remaining.
The Red Raiders fired back with five quick points on a Gray runner and a Williams three-ball on the right baseline. Then, Williams got a steal but was forced into a turnover which turned into a Dunham triple to stretch Butler’s lead back to 59-53 at the 6:21 mark.
Texas Tech would get as close as four points on two occasions, the latest at 62-58 with 4:10 left after Williams rattled home a three-pointer.
The Bulldogs responded with nine straight points down the stretch before a Williams trey at the buzzer made the final margin, 71-61.
“I think they’re a well prepared and well-coached team,” Smith said. “They’ve been here before. They’re very physical. That’s one thing you have to have when you get to this level. I thought their endurance, their stamina, their leadership from Roosevelt (Jones) made the difference. In a tournament like this, you’ve got to make shots. We’ve struggled to make some easy baskets today.”
The two teams split the first 14 points during the opening 3:03. Texas Tech put together a 12-4 run sparked by Ross who connected on a turnaround jumper and a pair of three-pointers to give the Red Raiders a 19-11 advantage with 9:55 to go.
Butler used an 11-2 spurt fueled by seven points courtesy of Dunham to grab a 26-23 edge with 3:44 remaining. The Bulldogs took a 30-28 lead into halftime following a Dunham three-pointer inside the final minute.
Neither team took more than a one possession lead during the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“We have everybody back except for Toddrick and D-Will,” Smith said. “I think it sets up pretty good. I think the experience of being here, and that taste of losing – you don’t want to have that experience again. I think they’ll understand just how hard they have to work in order to get back here. It’s not a given just because you have experienced players. A lot of things can happen. I think we have a good group of guys in Norense, Zach, Keenan and Justin. They’ve been the backbone of the program. You can tell that they were sort of physically outmatched as far as strength and just bulk. I think that’s an area that with maturity and getting in the weight room, I think those things will be key.”
