SAN DIEGO — Texas Tech couldn’t have asked for much more to start what it hopes is a deep March Madness run.
The 3-seed Red Raiders turned in a dominant performance, cruising to a 97-62 victory over 14-seed Montana State on Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena. The Red Raiders will face the winner of the Notre Dame/Alabama game on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 in the West Regional on the line.
“Couldn’t be more thrilled the way we played,” Tech coach Mark Adams said. “One of the best games we’ve played all year. Excited that our guys are showing improvement and that’s the thing we want to do is continue to grow as a team.
“We can build on that.”
Texas Tech (26-9), fresh off a trip to the Big 12 title game in Kansas City, shot a blistering 67% from the field in scoring the most points in a NCAA Tournament game in program history.
Terrence Shannon Jr. and Bryson Williams both scored 20 points to lead the Red Raiders. Adonis Arms added 15 points, while Kevin Obanor posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
“My teammates, they found me when I was open,” Shannon said. “We all moved the ball pretty well today. We had a lot of assists and I just wanted to bring energy to the game.”
Tech brought plenty of energy from the start. Shannon knocked down two early 3-pointers to help the Red Raiders jump out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes and extended that lead to 52-25 by halftime.
That matched the most first-half points by the Red Raiders this season.
The Red Raiders didn’t let up in the second half. The 97 points were the most Tech has scored in a NCAA Tournament game, surpassing its previous record of 92 points against North Carolina in 1996.
Montana State (27-8), meanwhile, was held well below its season average of 77 points per game. The Bobcats were riding a six-game winning streak going into the game and likely felt they could become another Cinderella story of the tournament.
After all, upsets are what make March Madness one of the great sporting events. Saint Peter’s pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, stunning 2-seed Kentucky in overtime on Thursday.
Thursday also saw a pair of 12-seeds (Richmond and New Mexico State) emerge victorious. A 14-seed defeating a 3-seed isn’t unheard of, either, as it’s happened 22 times since 1985.
But Montana State never had a chance. Bobcats coach Danny Sprinkle marveled at the Red Raiders’ defensive effort all day.
“This is the first time I’ve seen my play card all night,” Sprinkle said, holding up the card. “It felt like they were guarding me. I couldn’t even see my play card. They literally — that’s the best defensive team in the country for a reason. They make every catch hard. They contest not only every shot, they contest every pass and they made it really difficult for us.
“If they’re shooting the ball like that, I’m telling you, there’s not many teams in this tournament that’s going to beat them.”
Tech now has its eyes set on a lengthy stay in the tournament. The Red Raiders will be looking to reach the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in program history, making consecutive trips in 2018 and 2019.
“This gives us a lot of confidence,” Williams said. “We played one of our best defensive games we played all year, and we just need to improve and build on that. We know we are capable of much more.”
