No. 6 Houston Basketball Unable To Hold On vs. No. 22 Texas Tech In Shocking Upset: 3 Takeaways

In what was probably the wildest game to take place in the young history of Fertitta Center, the no. 22 Texas Tech Red Raiders (17-4, 8-2) stun no. 6 Houston basketball (17-4, 9-1) in a remarkable effort to win in overtime 82-81.

Texas Tech stayed undefeated on the road at 5-0, and ended the longest home win streak in the country that was 33 games in a row by Houston. The Cougars’ 18 conference game win streak and 13 game overall win streak also came to an end. 

Senior guard Chance McMillian led the way for Tech with 23 points on 50% shooting, including the two game winning free throws. Senior guard Elijah Hawkins added 17 points, with four threes, four assists and six rebounds. Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts put up 18 points and seven rebounds for Houston, while graduate guard LJ Cryer had 22. 

“The story of the game was Texas Tech and they were awesome. Let’s give them a little credit. They lose their best big, and they come into this gym, and go to the free throw line 34 times and make 12 3-pointers and play great,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said. 

A wild sequence occurred as sophomore forward JT Toppin was called for a flagrant two foul four minutes in and was ejected from the game. Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland was furious with the referees for what seemed like accidental contact. McCasland was also ejected with a double technical. 

“It put a lighting bolt through their team,” Sampson said.

When J’Wan Roberts hit his floater on the following possession, he exclaimed to the Texas Tech bench which drew a technical. When Houston had an 18-13 lead, McMillian went on a run as Tech scored eight straight. 

Joseph Tugler got an offensive rebound and had a thunderous tip-in dunk that gave UH the 22-21 lead. While the Red Raiders responded and took a 34-27 lead, Houston went on a 6-0 run after the four-minute timeout. 

Christian Anderson had the answer for the Red Raiders with a couple of big jumpers, including a three as Texas Tech shockingly took a 41-37 lead into halftime. McMillian had 13 points along with Hawkins with 10, including three triples. Cryer had 13 points for Houston, but the next highest was Arceneaux with only five.  

Milos Uzan came right out of the break with a three, but Tech responded with a wide-open hit of their own. That was the theme early in the second half as the Red Raiders took a game-high six-point lead 56-50 with 12 minutes left. Houston basketball struggled with fouling in the second half with 13 personal fouls compared to seven for TTU. 

The momentum completely changed after the 12-minute timeout as the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to take a 58-50 lead that included a great no-look pass from Mylik Wilson to Terrance Arceneaux for the slam, who also had a tough finish at the rim for the tie. Even though he was injured, J’Wan Roberts fought through it for the lead on an attacking layup.

While Houston basketball had a six-point lead late, it wasn’t enough to hold Texas Tech back as the game went into overtime. TTU took a four-point lead in the extra period, 78-74, but the Cougars would find a way to tie it at 80 late. It was a battle of free throws in the end, and Tech got the last stop to win. 

Takeaway #1: Incredible effort by Texas Tech

What it takes to win in Fertitta Center requires an immense effort from the opposition to deal with the crowd and Houston’s overpowering defense and rebounding. Instead, Texas Tech gave it back to UH and became the first opponent to win in that building in over two years. 

“What a remarkable environment, I have so much respect for Coach Sampson and Houston…we knew it would take everything we got to get this one done and we knew we’d have to handle adversity,” Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland said. 

Texas Tech was truly putting in the effort to get the rebounds as the Cougars struggled in that area, something not typically seen. The Red Raiders outrebounded the Cougars 20-12 in the first half, including having double the amount of defensive rebounds. 

In the end, Texas Tech was pretty much neck to neck in many categories that Houston normally dominates. It was about even in rebounding, and TTU forced 12 UH turnovers. They also had four blocks compared to two for the Coogs. It even made Sampson question the kind of effort Houston had in the game. 

“I’m not disappointed we lost. I’m disappointed that we didn’t fight harder or compete harder. That was one of the few times where I thought the other team out-competed us,” Sampson said. 

The Red Raiders led for 24 minutes during the game, which is almost unheard of at Houston. Texas Tech have been the road warriors of the Big 12 and has improved to 4-2 in Quad one games. 

Takeaway #2: Red Raiders poured it on from downtown

Texas Tech attempted 30 threes and made 12 of them for a clip of 40%. Every time Houston would score, Tech would respond with a big-time three, none bigger than the one to tie it at 72 with 30 seconds left by Darrion Williams, his only made three of the game in a fastbreak. The Red Raiders made all their shots from beyond the arc early on to keep it very close. 

What demonstrated this best was in the first half when Hawkins gave Texas Tech the 24-22 lead that Houston answered with an Arceneaux three from the corner. Hawkins once again punched back with a bullseye from downtown. TTU made seven threes and shot 50% from beyond the arc. Tech was 52% from the field overall in the first 20 minutes.

Takeaway #3: Similar struggle for Houston in a close game

Free throws continue to be a struggle for UH, and it ended up hurting them in this game. The Cougars shot just 67% from the line (18/27), compared to 71% for Texas Tech (24/34). While it did not affect the result at Kansas, it most certainly did here. Like the other three November losses, Houston basketball had an opportunity to win the game, but has been struggling in those game winning situations vs top competition so far. 

The Cougars had multiple chances to end it, most notably with 35 seconds left and Uzan at the line with a chance to make it a four-point game at 73-69, but missed. UH then had an opportunity for a game-winner in regulation, but the layup by Roberts was blocked. The Cougars had the last possession of overtime as well, but the drive by Roberts was well-defended to where he traveled. 

“We like that action and we thought J’Wan [Roberts] could get to the free throw line again,” Sampson said.

Against Alabama and San Diego State, Houston basketball had these very same chances but failed. 

It looked like the Cougars would win this hard-fought game after Houston basketball was up six with just under four minutes left. The momentum was thereafter Wilson slammed a dunk in an early sequence after a steal. However, Texas Tech had the answer for everything. 

Up next for Houston basketball (17-4, 9-1): vs. Oklahoma State (11-10, 3-7) – Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Up next for Texas Tech basketball (17-4, 8-2): vs. Baylor (14-7, 6-4) – Feb. 5 at 8 p.m.