The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
Men's Basketball Tops Red Raiders, 74-57
02.04.2012 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
Final Stats | | Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Clint Chapman scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Texas defeated Texas Tech 74-57 Saturday night.
Sheldon McClellan and J'Covan Brown each added 17 points each for Texas (14-9, 4-6 Big 12), which won for the second time in seven games, although the five losses during that stretch came by an average of 4.8 points.
The Longhorns rebounded at home against Tech by making 25 of 31 free throws. Texas attempted 22 in the first half alone, only two fewer than they took all game at Missouri on Jan. 30.
Ty Nurse scored 18 points for Texas Tech (7-15, 0-10), which is off to its worst start in league play since 2000 under head coach Billy Gillispie.
Gillispie, the former coach at Texas A&M, is back in the Big 12 after two years off from basketball following his firing from Kentucky in 2009.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas holds a 75-53 lead in its all-time series against Texas Tech.
- Texas holds a 118-16 (.881) record against in-state foes in the Rick Barnes era.
- Texas recorded a season-high 10 blocks
- Texas' eight first-half blocks tied for the second-most blocks in a half (since 1979-80); the record is nine (Feb. 3, 2007 vs. Kansas State, second half)
- Texas got to the free throw line three times as often as Texas Tech in the first half. Texas went 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the charity stripe in the first half, while the Red Raiders were 3-of-7 (42.9%).
- In its four conference wins, Texas has held its opponents to an average of 53.0 ppg and 38.3% (80-of-209) FG shooting
- UT enjoyed its biggest lead in conference play this season when it led the Red Raiders 62-37 (9:00, 2nd half)
INDIVIDUAL
J'Covan Brown
- Reached double figures in scoring (17 points) for the 21st time this season and the 54th time in his career
- Set a career high in blocks (two)
Clint Chapman
- Reached double figures in scoring (20 points) for the fifth time of his career (all five in Big 12 games this season)
- Set career highs in points (20) and free throws made (eight); made 26 of his last 27 free throw attempts over his last six Big 12 games
- Tied his career high in blocks (five)
Julien Lewis
- Tied his career high in assists (three)
Sheldon McClellan
- Reached double figures in scoring (17 points) for the 13th game this season
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On his team's consistency and execution:Well, in the first half, I thought we played a really good half of basketball. I thought we did some things that we've talked about and worked on. Defensively, I thought we really did a nice job. I thought the first four minutes of the second half, we were really good and then from that point on, we let down defensively and Texas Tech played extremely hard from start-to-finish. They went through a period where I think they scored three, four, five times in a row. We came down and weren't as good as we needed to be on the offensive end. This is a time of year where it's a game of habit and we've got to continue developing that. When we got a lead, you could just tell that we started playing at a pace and almost with no purpose. I told our team, for what we worked on in the last week, that's what we can't do.
On his team's balanced shot-taking today: One thing that was good tonight was the more balanced shot selection. J'Covan (Brown) had 13, Sheldon (McClellan) had 11 and Clint (Chapman) had 10. I thought that Julien Lewisplayed with a heavy heart. He literally got off the plane an hour before the game and he walked in here. He wasn't at shootaround today. He lost a dear member of his family. He really fought through it and did a good job. Again, we just have to keep talking about consistency.
On Sheldon McClellan's performance:He did a better job defensively. That was the key. That's why he hasn't played the last few games. People are just going right at him, and they're going to continue to do that until he can consistently prove he can defend. (Opposing) coaches see that he's not doing what he needs to do so they're going to continue to attack him. Tonight, I think he really came out and really tried defensively and offensively. His shots for the most part were shots he should be taking and can make.
On whether his offense works better when there is balance or when J'Covan Brown is shooting the most:There's no doubt (it works better with balance). I think every team is like that. The question is, as I've said all year, is who can you count on every single night. J'Covan (Brown) doesn't want to do that. He likes passing the ball. I'll tell you, the guy really enjoys passing the ball. He made some nice passes tonight. There's no doubt that balance is what all coaches desire to have.
On Texas Tech:I think in the first half our players showed great respect for Texas Tech. When you watch them on tape, they battle and they play hard. They're not going to quit playing. I give Coach (Billy) Gillispie a lot of credit. Like everybody in our league, they've continued to get better. Early in the game, I thought we really played well. The things that we talked about in our scouting report, our players really worked hard trying to accomplish. Offensively, we're doing the things that we've worked on. In the second half, we had a 25-point lead, and I think they outscored us 10 to zero after that.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
SENIOR FORWARD/CENTER Clint Chapman
On his career-high 20 points :A lot of my stuff came in the flow (of the offense). I was able to knock down free throws. That's something I have a lot of pride in. Finally, in the second half I started finishing buckets. When it comes out of the offense, our guards make it so easy. You really don't have to think about it. You just need to finish with the ball. I think that's what is special about having a game like this is feeling at ease when scoring the ball.
On whether kick-starting the offense off of defensive plays was a key in the win:Obviously, it's easier to flow into the offense when you're not taking it from out of bounds after a score every time. It's easier to get easy buckets in transition. Between that and executing our half-court offense, that made things a lot easier. We executed better today than we had in a lot of the other games. That always makes it easier.
On whether Texas can feel totally satisfied with the win:It's hard to say because we didn't play the way we wanted to for 40 minutes. We need to close out games like this. We played a little bit lax on the defense in the last eight to 10 minutes of the second half. That's where you see a little bit of immaturity. There are still places where we need to get better. The majority of the game we executed well, but we need to finish games. That will really start taking this team to another level.
FRESHMAN GUARD Sheldon McClellan
On playing more aggressively tonight:That's something I wanted to come out and do today. The last few games I haven't been too aggressive, so I wanted to come out and be more aggressive. I think I did that.
On getting off to a good start, offensively, early in the game:I think we were more focused at the beginning of the game. You don't want to play from behind all the time. That's pretty hard to do in the Big 12. So, we just came out and focused on doing what we had to do.
TEXAS TECH QUOTES
HEAD COACH BILLY GILLISPIE
Opening Statement: It was a tough loss. Texas played really well. They came out and set the tone offensively and defensively, especially with eight blocks the first half. We were not able to give them any kind of resistance inside. We could not score at all inside when we got the ball in there, and we definitely could not stop them from scoring. It was a good win for them and a tough loss for us.
On the Texas:Watching the tape of Texas, I thought they have done a great job with a bunch of young players. We have a bunch of young players, and so does Texas, and they continue to get better every single game. The Texas record is not exactly what they want it to be, but they are going to be exactly where they want to be at the end of the season because they are very athletic, young, and continue to get better. They put up a shield around the basket today. We had a lot of close looks at the basket, but we could not get over the Texas defense. They are getting better and better. They are good on the perimeter defensively and they were really good inside today, offensively. If they keep on improving the sky is the limit for them because of their athletic ability.
On Texas guard Sheldon McClellan: He did not catch us off guard. He played really well. He got an opportunity today to start, and he made the most of that opportunity. He did a very good job of playing off of his teammates, and his teammates did a really good job of making things happen for him. We were not able to control the ball handler at all, so they were able to force help. But, if we were better defensively, we would drive them east-to-west instead of north-to-south, but to get them on a straight line is very difficult. They passed the ball on time and they made shots. He played very well.
On Texas forward/center Clint Chapman:It was not a lot of post moves (on his part). It was that we could not handle the ball handler. We had never had any chance to get the guys going left to right.
