The Texas Tech Red Raiders appeared in just their sixth Sweet 16 on Friday night wit the hopes of making it to the Elite 8 for the firsttime inschool history. Purdue, ont the other hand, was playing in their eleventh Sweet 16 and looking to add to their four Elite 8 appearances. In a battle of will the Red Raiders were able to step up and send the Boilermakers home as they embark on a new journey for their school.
The Red Raiders used a defensive game to really slow down Purdue as they forced 17 turnovers and held the Boilermakers to a a 7:46 scoring drought in the first half. Texas Tech used this time to tie the game at 15 but were unable to gain any separation from the Boilermakers as they too were held scoreless for 6:01 before ending the half on a 15-5 to enter the second half up by five.
Both teams entered the second half ready to play as the teams traded baskets and found their offenses. Carsen Edwards led the way for Purdue with a spectacular game as the finished the night with 30 points on 11-20 shooting and knocking down four 3-pointers. C. Edwards helped keep his team in the game but with the team scoring of Texas Tech they started to pull away as they ended the last seven minutes of the game on a 23-12 run to embark on their first ever trip to the Elite 8. The Red Raiders had 4 players score in double figures and with some big slams down the stretch used the momentum to continue to pull away.
Texas Tech in their first ever Elite 8 game will be put to the test on Sunday as they will play a very solid Villanova team with talent and plenty of tournament experience.