Texas Tech advanced to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with an 82-72 win over UNC Wilmington on Thursday night, but the Red Raiders’ performance was anything but typical.
After jumping out to a 16-point lead early in the first half, Texas Tech went cold, and the Seahawks capitalized, cutting the deficit to just four points at halftime. Early in the second half, UNCW even tied the game at 43-43, but the Red Raiders made enough plays down the stretch to pull away late.
Texas Tech’s shot selection was different than what we’ve seen from them this season, and frankly, it was different from anything that the NCAA Tournament has ever seen.
According to ESPN, Texas Tech’s 46 attempted three-pointers is an NCAA Tournament record, and while they only made 28.3% of those attempts, that still piles up to 13 three-point shots.
That wasn’t the only NCAA Tournament record set, though, as Kerwin Walton’s career night also set some new marks for March Madness. Walton, a senior guard in his third year with the Red Raiders, had 27 points, three rebounds, and two assists while shooting 42.1% (8-of-19) from the field.
The interesting part about his stat line? He didn’t attempt a single two-point shot in the game.
According to OptaSTATS, Walton is the first player in NCAA tournament history to score over 25 points without taking a single two-point shot or turning the ball over a single time.
“I felt like our grit and fight really showed late in the game,” Grant McCasland said. “We felt like we’d have to win on the glass and play 50-50 basketball in order to give us a chance to win.
“We shot a lot of 3s; a lot of those were open.”
The Red Raiders will face Drake in the second round of the tournament, with tip scheduled for 5:10 pm (TNT) on Saturday, March 22.
