AMES, Iowa — Texas Tech exploded on offense for a 87-57 road win over Iowa State on Saturday.
With the win, Texas Tech improved to 18-9 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12.
The Red Raiders made 56.4 percent of their shots on the day, lighting up the floor from all over as they cruised to a win.
Texas Tech shot the ball well from the opening tip, making 11 of its first 14 shots. Its guards stepped into open jumpers and the Red Raiders punctured the Cyclone defense inside, getting all the way to the rim for layups.
Jahmi’us Ramsey was particularly aggressive in that regard. Instead of settling for jumpshots, he drove hard and got easy looks at the rim. Ramsey led the Red Raiders in points with 25, and had perhaps his best all-around game of the season. He also had a career high seven assists.
Despite being dressed for the game, Chris Clarke did not play Saturday. Chris Beard emptied his bench to fill the senior’s minutes, and seldom-used Andrei Savrasov rewarded him by hitting a 3 in the first half.
Texas Tech shot the ball well in the first half from 3-point range, making five of seven triples before halftime.
The Red Raiders played an outstanding all-around first half, scoring in bunches and stifling Iowa State’s offense. T.J. Holyfield ripped the ball from Tre Jackson for a layup at the halftime buzzer, giving the Red Raiders a 51-35 lead.
Kevin McCullar stayed in the starting lineup for the second straight day and played with his usual energy on both ends. He scored six points and led the team in rebounds with 11.
Terrence Shannon, whose place in the lineup McCullar took, had his best game in weeks off the bench. Shannon was active on both ends, drawing a charge, flying in for an athletic and-one tip-in and jumping a passing lane for a steal and unconstested dunk.
The second half featured more of the same for Texas Tech, as it maintained its double digit lead throughout the half.
Iowa State lost its superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the season two weeks ago, and could not keep up with Texas Tech without him.
The Cyclones had to rely on unproven guards to run their offense and take most of their shots. Their struggles mainly came on defense, where Haliburton’s absence was also felt, but they shot just 35.8 percent from the field.
The Red Raiders’ offense was clicking on all cylinders as they got good shots and made them, a healthy anecdote for the road struggles that have plagued them this season.