Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
22-10,12-6Big 12
No. 7 Iowa State
27-6,12-6Big 12
No. 16 Tech eliminated from Big 12 Tournament
March 12, 2026 | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY – A three-point game at halftime turned into a 75-53 loss for No. 16 Texas Tech which was eliminated by No. 7 Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Thursday at the T-Mobile Center.
The Red Raiders (22-10) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and went into halftime trailing just 36-33 before the Cyclones (27-6) used a 15-0 run in the early part of the second half to create separation and advance to the semifinals. Tech was out-rebounded by a 39-29 margin and outscored in the paint by a 42-18 discrepancy.
"You could tell they had the right edge to win this basketball game," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "We didn't match the physicality or effort in the second half. I have to do a better job of helping our team to understand how important it is to get after it for the entire game. I loved our fight to start and made shots and got stops but the game wore on us with their size and athleticism causing us problems."
Nationally ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history, the NCAA Selection Committee slotted the Red Raiders as a four seed (13th overall) on Saturday, Feb. 21 in its preliminary top 16 for the season. Selection Sunday is set for March 15 with the full 68-team bracket to be revealed at 5 p.m. on CBS. The Red Raiders are poised to make their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 22nd in program history.
LeJuan Watts led the Red Raiders with 12 points and seven rebounds while Christian Anderson had 10 points and three assists. Tech finished the game 9-for-29 (31.0%) on 3-pointers, led by Donovan Atwell who made three and finished with nine points. Jaylen Petty added eight points, five rebounds and four assists while Josiah Moseley had six points and four rebounds as a reserve.
Tech was down only 44-39 after Atwell's third 3-pointer but Iowa State responded on the other end of the court with Milan Momcilovic hitting one of his own to start the 15-0 run. The run was capped by 3s from Jamarion Batemon and Tamin Lipsey before it was halted with Petty 3-pointer for Tech to take the score to 59-42 with 10 minutes to play.
Lipsey led Iowa State with 20 points after going 4-for-7 on 3-pointers and also added four assists. Joshua Jefferson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds along with adding four assists and two blocks while Dominykas Pleta went for 11 points as a reserve. Batemon made two 3s and finished with eight points. The Cyclones finished the game 7-for-18 (38.9%) on 3-pointers and was 30-of-56 (53.6%) from the field overall while holding Tech to 33.9% shooting for the game. The Red Raiders had only 10 turnovers but the Cyclones had a 17-4 scoring advantage off turnovers.
Iowa State took a 36-33 lead into halftime in a first half that saw nine lead changes and the Red Raiders leading by as many as 12. Watts led Tech with 11 points and four rebounds while Anderson had 10 points and three assists through 20 minutes. Atwell had two 3s and six points at the break and Petty had three assists, five rebounds and two points. The Red Raiders went on an early 11-0 run and led 13-2 after a Watts 3-pointer. Tech started the half 3-for-4 on 3s and went into the locker room shooting 5-for-16 from beyond the arc while the Cyclones were only 3-for-12. Iowa State would go on a 15-2 run to catch back up, taking its first lead at 20-19 on a Lipsey 3-pointer. Watts would stop the run and Atwell's second 3 had the Red Raiders in front 30-29. Anderson, who was 2-for-4 on 3s in the first half, made his second to tie the game at 33 before a 3-pointer from Batemon with three seconds left in the half gave the Cyclones a three-point lead going to halftime. The teams were even at 18 rebounds each with Iowa State having a 22-14 scoring advantage in the paint and a 9-3 scoring margin off turnovers. Lipsey led Iowa State with eight points and three assists at halftime.
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