The Texas Tech Red Raiders went to Houston for a tough match up with the No. 6 Cougars and were able to pull off an 82-81 win to shake up the Big 12 standings.
The game began with plenty of controversy and ended in overtime with Tech pulling off the win and starting 8-2 for their best start in conference play since joining the Big 12 and snapped Houston’s 33-game home winning streak in the process.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the game.
Awful Big 12 Refs to Start
In a game with huge implications in the Big 12, Texas Tech lost its best player and then its head coach for an awful ejection early in the first half. JT Toppin got ejected on this play and that resulted in Grant McCasland losing his cool and getting ejected as well.
Toppin leads the team in points per game (16.4), rebounds per game (8.9) and blocks per game (1.2). But despite these two getting ejected less than four minutes into the game, the Red Raiders were able to pull off what seemed like an improbable win.
Who Stepped Up?
Chance McMillian tied a season high with 23 points, while Elijah Hawkins had 17 and five players scored in double figures for a balanced attack from the Red Raiders.
Tech was bombs away from three-point range and hit 12 of 30 for 40% on the night, while Houston only made 5 of 14. Tech was also better from the free thrown line, in a game that saw these two teams combine for over 60 attempts. Tech was 24 of 34 (71%), while Houston went 18 for 24 (67%).
And Texas Tech held its own on the boards, only getting outrebounded by one (38-37).
Houston’s Streak Ends
Houston had won 18 Big 12 games in a row, the second-longest winning streak in Big 12 history, with only Kansas from 2001-2003 topping the Cougars.
But that streak is now over.
Houston’s loss drops them to 9-1 in the Big 12 and moves Arizona into a tie atop the Big 12 standings. It also tightens things down the standings as Texas Tech is just one game back, Iowa State is two games behind, and three teams are three games back (6-4 in Big 12 play) in Kansas, Baylor and BYU.
