No. 20 Longhorns doomed by shooting woes, turnovers in loss to surging Texas Tech in Big 12 opener

AUSTIN — No. 20 Texas learned the hard way on Saturday that things are going to lot tougher for them in Big 12 Conference play when it was thumped by unheralded but deadly Texas Tech 78-67 at the Moody Center.

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It was the league opener for both teams and it was the Red Raiders that was most ready for the uptick in competition, burying Texas in the second half with an inside-out attack that utilized 7-foot center Warren Williams in the paint and Joe Toussaint and Pop Isaacs from the perimeter.

Isaacs led Texas Tech (12-2, 1-0 in Big 12 play) with 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Washington added 15 as the Red Raiders dominated the final 18 minutes. The Red Raiders led by four points at halftime before giving away their advantage early in the second half and then responding. 

Texas Tech was up by 64-55 after a free throw by Chance McMillian with 7:44 to play and the Longhorns never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

Toussaint also had 15 points and McMillian added 11 for Texas Tech, which has won seven straight games.

Tyrese Hunter led the Longhorns (11-3, 0-1 Big 12) with 20 points, with Max Abmas scoring 18 and Dillon Mitchell racking up 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Longhorns had a five-game winning streak snapped and fell for the first time at home this season.

“We weren’t able to put second stops together and you got to be to do that in this league,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said afterward. “Over the course of the game you got to get seven or eight times when you do that. and we weren’t able to do that tonight. Texas Tech played really well offensively. We knew that coming in that they were good offensive team and we will have to try to put our will on them to win.”

Tech outshot the Longhorns 52.8 percent to 41.3 percent, forced 14 Texas turnover that it turned into 23 points and canned 7 of its 15 3-pointers against a Texas defense that has great running teams off the line.

The Longhorns pushed the ball into the paint over the initial six minutes of the game, taking only two early 3-pointers and getting a three-point play from Disu at the 14:21 mark of the first half to go up 10-6. Texas expanded its lead to seven points after a Disu second-chance 3-pointer and a layup from Hunter, the latter with 11:59 to play in the half. 

The Red Raiders found their stride, with Toussaint scoring six points during a 10-0 run that netted them a 20-17 lead. After Hunter ended the run with a jumper, Toussaint poured in a 3-pointer to expand Tech’s advantage to five points.

Hunter’s 3-pointer with 4:06 remaining tied the game at 28 but was immediately countered by a basket from beyond the arc by Isaacs and a jumper from Darrion Williams. A pair of free throws by Chance McMillian gave the Red Raiders a six point-edge before a jumper by Hunter drew Texas back to within 37-33 at the break.

Hunter led all scorers with 14 points before halftime while the other Texas players combined for just 17.

Toussaint hit for 13 to pace the Red Raiders, who also got nine in the half from nomad transfer Warren Washington on 4 for 4 shooting from the floor. Texas Tech outshot the Longhorns 50 percent to 41.4 percent over the first 20 minutes and forced six turnovers while committing just two.

“We have to play with better effort on defense,” Abmas said. “We didn’t get a whole lot of stops late in first half and then allowed Tech to lean on us a little bit and to make us work harder since we were playing from behind.”

Texas roared out of the gate in the second half, going back inside for a layup from Kadin Shedrick and then a dunk and layup by Mitchell to take a 39-37 lead. But Texas Tech fought back, getting an alley-oop dunk by Washington and a 3-pointer by McMillian to resume the front.

The Red Raiders did all they could to exploit their size advantage with lobs into the post to the 7-foot Williams. When that didn’t work, they turned to Toussaint, schooled by Bob Huggins to be a go-to player when he was at West Virginia, to McMillian and to the mercurial Isaacs, who got back in the groove in the second half after being limited in the first when clashed knees with a Texas defender. 

McMillian’s free throw with 7:57 to play gave Texas Tech a 64-55 lead. When Hunter missed a pair of free throws with 3:13 to play and behind by six, it all but ended the Longhorns’ chance for a comeback. After Isaacs hit a layup in traffic and McMillian turned a steal from Darrion Williams into a breakaway dunk, Tech had secured its upset.

The Longhorns return to the floor on Tuesday when they travel to new Big 12 member Cincinnati for a 6 p.m. CST tipoff.

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“This Big 12 is going to be a gauntlet every night,” Terry said. “Every night you’re going to have to be very bring your ‘A’ game whether you’re at home or on the road, but that’s what you want. It’s what you signed up for. And you can only keep these games with you for one night, whether you win or lose, because the next game is going to be another big game for you.”