SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Texas Tech’s identity may be its defense, but head coach Mark Adams still has an appreciation for what a good shooting night can do. He saw it in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when his Red Raiders scored the most points in a tournament game thus far.
“I’ve always said your offense can knock somebody out and you need to be able to score,” Adams said Saturday.
On the other hand, a poor offensive showing can be the knockout punch for a tournament team — that is, if their defense isn’t the top-ranked group in the country.
When it mattered most on Sunday, the Red Raiders showed why they have the top-ranked defensive efficiency rating in the country. Marcus Santos-Silva, in particular, had two key blocks late for the Red Raiders, helping Texas Tech beat Notre Dame, 59-53.
Kevin Obanor, the senior transfer from Oral Roberts, had his fifth double-double in his fifth career tournament game, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
“When big moments come I don’t want to let my teammates down,” Obanor said. “Like I said, we love each other a lot. We love Coach Adams. We love our brothers. It’s like a family-hood over here. Whatever it takes.”
The Red Raiders went to the free throw line eight times in the final two minutes; they made every shot. Santos-Silva made two free throws as well. He’s been working on his shot in practice and the natural left-hander even shot right handed.
“I think he did that on his own about a month ago … He looks a whole lot better,” Adams said. “But, quite honestly still hadn’t been going in practice. We were crossing our fingers.”
It’s the eighth Sweet 16 appearance in schools history for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will play Duke in San Francisco.
On Saturday, when reflecting about his team’s offensive excellence the night before, Adams said he wished he could’ve bottled it up and saved it for later. The need for it was clear early on against Notre Dame.
Senior Bryson Williams made Texas Tech’s first shot of the game. The Red Raiders then went three for their next 11. They finished shooting 35.6% from the field.
“The ball is going to go in some nights, and some nights it’s not,” said Kevin McCullar Jr., who finished with 14 points. “We know one thing that will be consistent is our defense and effort.”
And early on, Texas Tech’s defense kept it in the game, despite a cold shooting start. Notre Dame — a top-30 offensive efficiency team in the country, according to KenPom — shot 25% from the field in the first half, yet only trailed the Red Raiders 26-25 at the half.
The one area where Notre Dame shot up to par, though, was from 3-point range.
Both coaches knew that’s where the game would be decided. Adams said he lost sleep after scouting Notre Dame’s plethora of 3-point shooters. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey believed, if his team could make 10 or more 3-pointers, they’d have a chance to upset the Red Raiders.
So, in the second half of Sunday’s game, Notre Dame mostly ran four guards against Texas Tech. Brey said they weren’t running any specific offense.
“We were just playing basketball,” Brey said. “Drive, kick; drive, kick; drive, kick. You can’t run anything against them, which is kind of what I thought would happen.”
Notre Dame entered Sunday’s second-round game with a 15-1 record when it made double-digit 3-pointers. With just over five minutes left in the game, Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin drilled his third 3-pointer of the game to give the Irish a one-point lead over Texas Tech.
It was Notre Dame’s ninth 3-pointer; the Fighting Irish didn’t make another the rest of the game.
“We needed 11,” Brey said. “We needed double digits. I’m telling you.
“Double digits is key for us. And we got into a rhythm doing it. But, we needed a few more. And we had unbelievable — I know I think we took 28. We had great looks. But you know what they do, they exhaust you. And then your legs feel a little different playing against it.”
Texas Tech knew how dangerous Notre Dame’s deep shooting could be, too. So, in the last five minutes the Red Raiders aggressively switched and left driving lanes relatively open. When Notre Dame made it inside, a Texas Tech defender was waiting.
“We knew down the stretch that we had to eliminate that,” McCullar said, “or the game probably wouldn’t have went our way.”
Late in the game, Obanor and McCullar said the team had some pretty heated discussions during timeouts. Their season was on the line.
“Are you trying to go home?” Obanor recalls asking his teammates. “No way to sugarcoat it. Are you trying to go home?”
Because of their defense down the stretch, the Red Raiders aren’t.
