Texas Tech is going to the Final Four for the first time in program history after earning a 75-69 win over Gonzaga for the NCAA West Region Championship with Jarrett Culver recording 19 points and six rebounds and Davide Moretti hitting a pair of crucial 3-pointers down the stretch on Saturday at the Honda Center.
The No. 3-seeded Red Raiders (30-6) reached the Elite Eight for the first time ever last season and returned this season with the goal of creating more history after also winning their first Big 12 Conference regular-season championship. Tech did that by holding the top-seeded Bulldogs (33-4) under 70 points for only the fourth time this season and will now be playing in the Final Four next week in Minneapolis, Minnesota where it will play Michigan State which knocked off Duke on Sunday night.
Culver led the team with 19 points and was named the West Region’s Most Outstanding Player, while Matt Mooney added 17 points and Moretti went for 12 with his two 3-pointers that helped push the Red Raiders to the win over the Bulldogs. Tariq Owens finished the game with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, Brandone Francis added six and freshman Kyler Edwards went for eight points. Texas Tech finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field, hit nine 3-pointers and was 16-for-19 at the free-throw line. On defense, the Red Raiders limited Gonzaga to 42 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers.
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