The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
8-5 (0-1B12)
Texas Tech
11-1 (1-0B12)
Texas Tech holds off Men's Basketball in Big 12 opener, 82-74
01.02.2016 | Men's Basketball
Career-high 35 points from Isaiah Taylor not enough for Longhorns.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Junior guard Isaiah Taylor dropped a career-high 35 points and added six assists, but it wasn't enough as Texas Tech knocked off Texas, 82-74, in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams at United Supermarkets Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Taylor has now averaged 26.7 points per game in his last three contests while converting 54.5-percent (30-of-55) from the field. Javan Felix also scored in double-figures for the Longhorns (8-5, 0-1 Big 12), finishing the game with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Devaugntah Williams led the Red Raiders with 23 points and three steals. Texas Tech (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) made the most of its opportunities from the free throw line by sinking 90-percent (27-of-30) and held the lead throughout the entire game.
The Longhorns depended on success beyond the arc early in the first half, sinking their first 5-of-9 three-pointers. Foul trouble plagued the Horns in the half, as their 13 fouls resulted in Texas Tech capitalizing from the free-throw line, nailing 92.3-percent of their first-half attempts (12-of-13).
Texas did not convert a field goal attempt from inside the arc until a Felix jumper at 7:34 cut the Red Raiders' lead to 23-14. Poor shooting from the field weighed down Texas in the first half, shooting 28.6-percent (8-of-28). Texas Tech held a 35-24 lead at the break.
Taylor scored the team's first nine points of the second half in just 2:12, and the Longhorns converted 53.1-percent of their attempts (17-of-32) in the second stanza. Texas Tech also started the half on a hot streak, scoring 12 points without missing a shot from the field to extend its lead to 47-33 at the 17:27 mark.
Texas began to chip away at the lead following a pair of free throws by Taylor and a 3-pointer from Tevin Mack, bringing the Longhorns to within seven (57-50) at the 10:34 mark. A pair of dunks from Texas Tech forward Zach Smith stretched the lead to 63-54 with 7:27 left.
The Longhorns were able to climb within six (67-61) with 4:11 remaining, but a deep 3-pointer from Gotcher extended Texas Tech's lead to 70-61 with 2:18 left in the game. Three straight turnovers by the Red Raiders allowed the Longhorns to close within six (74-68) following a Taylor layup and a Felix 3-pointer, but Texas Tech hits its final eight free throws to close out the win.
Texas will continue conference play at home when the Longhorns face Kansas State, coming off a double-overtime loss at home to No. 19/17 West Virginia, on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT at the Frank Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas Tech 82, Texas 74
January 2, 2016
United Supermarkets Arena (Lubbock, Texas)
Attendance: 12,491
Team Notes
Texas fell to 14-6 all-time in Big 12 Conference openers
UT is 37-6 against Texas Tech since the Big 12 began in 1996-97. The Horns have won 14 of the last 16 and 20 of the last 23 games against Texas Tech following today's loss.
Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the eighth time this year and 51st time in his career (112 games)
He converted 3-of-5 three-pointers, marking the sixth time this season (13 games) that he has made at least three 3-pointers in a game
Set season highs in rebounds (10) and minutes played (20)
Reached double figures in rebounds for the first time this year and second time in his career (115 games)
The 10 boards were one shy of his career (11 at Houston on March 20, 2013)
Set a career high in scoring (35 points) and tied his career high in free throws made (13-of-14)
Topped the 20-point mark for the fourth time this year and 12th time in his career (72 games)
Reached double figures in scoring for the 10th time this season and 54th time in his career
Also registered six assists against just one turnover, marking the ninth time this year (13 games) that he has posted at least five assists in a game
Made his second start of the season and 30th of his career (previous start this year came in game two against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 21)
Postgame Quotes
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On Isaiah Taylor carrying the workload during the second half …
"I thought in the second half he did a good job of being aggressive, getting to the basket and getting to the foul line. We just didn't play good enough defense. That's the biggest reason that we lost. You've got to give Texas Tech a lot of credit. Coach Smith and his staff have done a great job with their team. Those guys were the aggressors from the opening tip."
On the difficulty playing without Cameron Ridley …
"He's a really good player. Anytime you take arguably your most impactful guy out of the mix, it can be challenging. However, your opponent is not going to feel sorry for you. They're not going to play any less hard because you've got a guy out. In fact, they're going to try to take advantage of those opportunities without a guy like Cam. We obviously are in a situation where we've got to figure out who is a group of guys that we can have out there that can be most effective. Then, who we can have coming off the bench that can give us an added bonus. I think on the defensive end, certainly the last two games, we haven't been where we needed to be. Cam's a good defensive player, but I put that more on all the other guys and all of us in general. We're just not as good as we need to be right now on the offensive end. Certainly, we're different. We can't throw it in as much inside as we were. But, that's no excuse. We've got to find other ways to score."
On if it was a conscious decision to run his team's offense through Isaiah Taylor in the second half …
"It was a conscious decision to be more aggressive. I thought early in the game, there were a bunch of fouls called on us. I think a lot of that was due to Texas Tech's aggressiveness. They did a good job of being more aggressive, and we were just a half step off on defense at the start of the game. I told our guys, 'Turn the tables on them, we need to be aggressive.' I guess they took that to heart. Once he [Taylor] kind of got going by driving the ball and getting in the lane, it wouldn't have made much sense to go away from that. So, we just kind of kept running stuff where he was attacking off the pick-and-roll or just spreading the floor and letting him go."
