In February 2021, Texas Tech men’s basketball lost three games in a row.
In February and March of 2020, Tech men’s basketball lost two home games in a row.
In January 2015, Tech men’s basketball started Big 12 play 0-3.
Neither of these things happened again until Saturday night when a depleted Red Raider squad lost to the Oklahoma Sooners 68-63 in overtime at the United Supermarkets Arena despite 23 points from super-senior De’Vion Harmon.
Freshman guard Pop Isaacs, Tech’s best three-point shooter, was in concussion protocol after hitting his head late in Tuesday’s game against Kansas, according to Tech Athletics. Sophomore center Daniel Batcho was out after he fell on the next possession and dislocated a finger on his right hand, according to Tech Athletics.
Junior forward KJ Allen was also out, and head coach Mark Adams said he had a minor lower leg injury. Allen warmed up for the game before not coming out in uniform.
Those three injuries were in addition to super-senior Fardaws Aimaq, the transfer who has been out all season with a foot injury.
Oklahoma shot 9-for-27 from the three-point line, including 6-for-15 in the second half.
On the other hand, Texas Tech couldn’t buy a triple, finishing 2-for-18 from the three-point line. Adams said that was the biggest difference in the game.
The lack of depth, especially big, forced super-senior forward Kevin Obanor to play all but 26 seconds. He finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Harmon, a transfer who played his first two years at Oklahoma, showed out for Tech in the second half with 19 of his 23 points. He played all but two minutes and 30 seconds in the loss.
Oklahoma only played eight players themselves, however, and had to adjust when super-senior center Tanner Groves fouled out with a little over five minutes to go in regulation.
In the first half, Harmon only had two points for Tech, but Obanor led the Red Raiders with five points of a 12-2 run to finally get any offense going in the defensive battle.
The Sooners had an answer, however, and took a 24-23 lead into halftime.
Throughout the game, freshman guard Milos Uzan ended up being the star as he seemed to always make a bucket when Oklahoma needed it.
Tied at 27-27 after Harmon’s first second-half bucket, Oklahoma answered with three straight three-pointers, including one from Uzan, to put the Sooners ahead by nine points.
Harmon got back on his impressive run, but after his next two second-half buckets, Uzan was there to immediately answer both times. After Harmon’s next one, senior forward Jalen Hill made a triple, then Groves made a putback dunk to put Oklahoma up 13.
After Groves’ second putback dunk, Tech finally made their big second-half run. Harmon continued to score, contributing 11 points and an assist to Obanor, who had six points of his own, on a 21-6 run that energized the United Supermarkets Arena crowd.
When Obanor made the layup to put Tech up 56-54 with 23 seconds to go, it was Uzan who drove inside and drew a foul from freshman guard Lamar Washington. Uzan made both free throws to tie the game at 56.
Tech missed a three-pointer from freshman Jaylon Tyson, and in overtime, the Red Raiders took a 60-58 lead, but the Sooners roared back for the last time.
Uzan started a 10-2 run with a bucket to tie the game, then Hill scored eight points in a row to put the game away for Oklahoma as Tech only broke the run with a D’Maurian Williams three-pointer.
Hill and Uzan each finished with 18 points, and Hill added nine rebounds.
Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser said it was good for Uzan to step up and make the big shots that tied the game in regulation and tied the game again in overtime to start the game-ending run, especially on the road in Lubbock.
Moser said Uzan probably wanted the and-one at the end of regulation, but Uzan is so good and able to create for others, knock down a shot, and is a great skip passer, which is what Oklahoma wanted to do against the Tech defense.
Although Williams, a junior playing a season-high 21 minutes, scored five points for Tech in overtime, he caused a Tech shot-clock violation when he was seemingly unaware of the time left and missed two key free throws late.
On the last possession for Texas Tech in both regulation and overtime, Adams called a timeout each time.
Oklahoma’s defense read each play well, especially in overtime when it resulted in Tech’s last shot as a deep, contested Washington three-pointer that was blocked.
Adams said in hindsight on the last play, Oklahoma was guarding the three-point line and Tech probably should’ve driven inside to take two points, but the Sooners did a good job at the end and guarded the three-point line throughout the whole game.
Up Next
Adams congratulated Oklahoma and head coach Porter Moser for the win and being making big plays down the stretch.
He then gave credit to his team for pushing through with a shorter rotation than usual for over 40 minutes, and he said it was an emotional locker room after the game.
“These guys love winning and hate losing,” Adams said, “and there’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to continue to get better, and this is going to be a fun team to watch in another month.”
The Red Raiders have not been in this position for a long time, and with Isaacs, Batcho and Allen likely out in their next game, this team will have to figure out how to overcome their youth in a loaded Big 12.
Tech will go on the road to play Iowa State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before continuing their road trip in Austin with the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 14.
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