The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
18-7,11-6Big 12
Texas Tech
17-10,9-8Big 12
No. 13/16 Men’s Basketball tops No. 20/22 Texas Tech, 67-66
03.12.2021 | Men's Basketball
Coleman III hits a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to seal the win in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinals.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Senior point guard Matt Coleman III posted a team-high 19 points and converted a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to lead No. 13/16 Texas (18-7) to a 67-66 victory against No. 20/22 Texas Tech (17-10) on Friday night at the T-Mobile Center in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. With the win, the Longhorns advance to face No. 11/12 Kansas in the semifinals on Friday (8:30 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
Coleman hit 7-of-16 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws while adding six assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Senior guard Jase Febres registered a season-high 15 points while knocking down 5-of-9 from three-point range in 24 minutes.
Redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones tallied 11 points (3-6 threes) and four assists, and senior forward Jericho Sims posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards to go along with a career-high four blocked shots in 29 minutes. Sophomore forward Kai Jones also recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
Texas Tech used an early 8-0 spurt to build a 17-7 advantage after a Marcos Santos-Silva layup at the 13:41 mark. Trailing 30-22 following a Tyreek Smith layup with 4:08 left, the Longhorns closed the half on a 12-0 run to take a 34-30 lead into the break.
The Red Raiders opened the second half with an 18-4 spurt to grab a 48-38 cushion after a T.J. Shannon Jr. dunk with 12:32 remaining. Texas answered with a 19-8 run over the next five minutes to take a 57-56 lead following a Febres three-pointer at the 7:36 mark.
Leading 62-61 with 5:04 left, Texas Tech scored back-to-back baskets to increase its margin to 66-61 after a Kevin McCullar layup at the 4:00 mark. The Longhorns held the Red Raiders scoreless the rest of the way while getting a Kai Jones put-back and a Coleman layup to close to within 66-65 with 59 seconds remaining.
Brock Cunningham came up with a huge steal on Texas Tech's next possession to setup the dramatic finish by Coleman on the offensive end. Coleman was fouled by Kyler Edwards on a drive to the basket with 1.8 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws. Sims then intercepted the long inbounds pass to seal the win.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
#13/16 Texas 67, #20/22 Texas Tech 66
March 11, 2021
T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Mo.)
Attendance: 3,510
Team Notes
- With the victory, Texas advances to face No. 11/12 Kansas in the semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. CT (ESPN2).
- This marks UT's first trip to the Phillips 66 Big 12 semifinals since 2014. The Longhorns have now reached the semifinal round in 14 of their 24 appearances at the Championship.
- Texas has now registered six wins against AP Top 25 opponents this year (vs. No. 14 North Carolina, at No. 3 Kansas, at No. 14 West Virginia, No. 17 Kansas, at No. 16 Oklahoma and vs. No. 20 Texas Tech).
- Thirteen (13) of Texas' first 25 games this season have come against teams that were ranked at the time of the contest in either The AP or Coaches' Top 25.
- UT improved to 10-2 in games away from Austin this year, including a perfect 4-0 mark in neutral-site contests.
- Texas improved to 7-3 in games decided by three points or less this season.
- The Longhorns converted 42.3-percent (11-26) from three-point range on the night.
- This marked the ninth time this year that the Longhorns reached double digits in three-pointers made.
- UT posted a 25-13 advantage in bench scoring.
- The Longhorns trailed 66-61 with 4:00 remaining but ended the game on a 6-0 run.
- Texas closed the first half on a 12-0 run over the last 2:40 to turn a 30-22 deficit into a 34-30 lead at the break. The Longhorns held the Red Raiders scoreless over the final 4:08 of the first half.
- Reached double figures in scoring (team-high 19 points) for the 20th time this year (25 games) and 75th time in his career (126 games)
- Converted a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to seal the victory
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the second time this year (11 games) and 31st time in his career (102 games)
- Set season highs in field goals made (5-9) and three-point field goals made (5-9)
- Tied his season high in minutes (24)
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 19th time this year (24 games) and 63rd time in his career (100 games)
- Tied his season high in assists (4)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the 11th time this year (24 games) and 13th time in his career (51 games)
- Tied his season high in offensive rebounds (5) and blocked shots (2)
- Registered a team-best plus-minus total of plus-23 in 27 minutes
- Registered a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) for the third time this season (24 games) and seventh time in his career (117 games)
- Set a career high in blocked shots (4), previous: 3, three times
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 12th time this year and 33rd time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the fourth time this season and 14th time in his career
- Set a season high and tied his career high in steals (2)
