No. 20 Texas Out-Muscled by Texas Tech in Big 12 Opener
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns opened up Big 12 play for the final time on Saturday night against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. And per usual, there was no shortage of drama between the two rivals ... and no shortage of Tech fans in the crowd at Moody Center either.
That last part was obvious as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
No. 20 Texas (11-3) was unable to overcome a strong second half from the Red Raiders (12-2), who got a game-high 21 points from guard Pop Isaacs to pull off the 78-67 upset win on the road. It marked just the second loss ever for the Longhorns at the Moody Center since the venue opened last season.
© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY
"It's the best league in the country," Texas guard Max Abmas said after the game. "It's a gauntlet, so as coach said, we've gotta turn the page over to the next one."
Isaacs got the start despite facing a civil lawsuit for sexual assault and was met with boos from Longhorns fans throughout the game. It hardly fazed him or the rest of the team, who could be heard shouting as music blasted from the visitors locker room after the win.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said after the game that he's standing by the original statement the university released regarding Isaacs' lawsuit. However, Red Raiders center Warren Washington said the team's ability to overcome the noise and adversity was "simple."
"Simple, we're a family," Washington said. "We had one goal in mind when we came here is to win. We weren't thinking about anything else but winning and giving each other and pushing each other and, you know, doing what we got to do."
Texas got a game-high 20 points from Tyrese Hunter while Abmas added 18 points and five assists. Dillon Mitchell had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Dylan Disu posted nine points off the bench.
The Red Raiders got 15 points each from Washington and Joe Toussaint while Chance McMillian had 11 points off the bench.
The Longhorns got out to a 17-10 lead thanks to early work on the glass and six quick points off the bench for Disu, who had a and-one layup in transition before hitting a contested triple a few possessions later.
Unsurprisingly, the Red Raiders answered with a 13-2 run to take a 23-19 lead behind 11 points from Toussaint, who had 13 of Tech's 23 points by the 7:25 mark of the first half.
Texas Tech held its lead for the majority of what was left in the half. Isaacs hushed the crowd and multiple Raiders hit the "too small" pose on the Longhorns, but Hunter and Mitchell helped Texas to keep momentum from shifting too much toward the visitors before heading into the half down 37-33.
After missing on the lob in the first half, Mitchell came out in the second half and got the crowd going with a fast-break alley-opp and a put-back layup that put Texas in front at 39-37.
The Red Raiders built the lead back up at 52-47 before the two teams started trading buckets, but then momentum shifted.
Texas Tech built its biggest lead of nine at 61-52 with 8:45 left as "Raider Power" chants rung throughout Moody Center.
With the game slipping away from them, the Longhorns had to answer back. But not enough defense and up-and-down offense made any potential comeback simply wishful thinking for Texas.
The Longhorns fall to 0-1 in conference play, but will look to pick up their first Big 12 win of the season Tuesday on the road against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
