Texas Tech wins 10th in row, tops Texas 82-74

By foxsports
Published

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) Devaugntah Williams' 23 points led Texas Tech to an 82-74 win against Texas Saturday afternoon, its first win in a Big 12 home opener since 2007 and 10th win in a row.

Toddrick Gotcher scored 18 points and Norense Odiase had 13 points for the Red Raiders (11-1). Zach Smith added 10 points.

''It's a new millennium for Texas Tech basketball,'' Gotcher said. ''I've been here so long. I'm happy to see it turn around now.''

Texas junior Isaiah Taylor, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, led the Longhorns (8-5) with a career-high 35 points.

''(Taylor) went berserk,'' Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. ''I think he had (28 points) in the second half. He was phenomenal. We tried to take the ball out of his hands a little bit when he started doing that and didn't have much success.''

Texas Tech led by as many as 15 points, but its lead was cut to six with 4:11 left. Gotcher hit a 3-pointer and Williams scored a layup on consecutive possessions to push the Red Raiders lead to 11 with 1:30 left.

''We've been the hunted instead of the hunted,'' Gotcher said. ''It's starting to change around.''

Javan Felix scored 13 points and Tevin Mack added nine points for Texas.

Entering this game, Texas had won 14 of its last 15 meetings with Texas Tech.

Texas did not grab its first offensive rebound until Prince Ibeh corralled a Connor Lammert miss with 5:08 left in the first half and the Longhorns trailing 31-19.

Zach Smith hit a jumper late in the first half to give the Red Raiders a 35-24 halftime lead.

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TIP-INS

Texas Tech: With 10 straight wins, it's the program's longest winning streak since beginning the 2009-10 season with a 9-0 record. ... Texas Tech has collected seven of its victories by double figures and by an average of 15.1 points per game. ... Entering play, the Red Raiders had limited opponents to a 38.5 shooting clip, which is the second-lowest mark on the Big 12 leaderboard.

Texas: Senior center Cameron Ridley is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left foot in practice this week. The 6-foot-10 Ridley led Texas in rebounding (10.0) and blocks per game (3.4), and ranked second in scoring (12.7). ... First-year coach Shaka Smart coached in his first Big 12 game. Smart was a high-profile hire after leading Virginia Commonwealth University to a 163-56 record in six seasons with one final four appearance.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech visits Iowa State on Wednesday.

Texas hosts Kansas State on Tuesday.