Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
23-10,12-6Big 12
No. 12 Akron
29-6,17-1MAC
No. 5 Tech advances with win over No. 12 Akron
March 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA, Florida – Jaylen Petty and Josiah Moseley both scored career highs and No. 5 Texas Tech used a 15-2 extended run to create separation and advance with a 91-71 NCAA Tournament First Round win over No. 12 Akron on Friday at Benchmark International Arena. The Red Raiders (23-10) never trailed in the game and will now play No. 4 Alabama (24-9) on Sunday in the Second Round with the time to be announced later this evening. The Crimson Tide advanced with a 90-70 win over No. 13 Hofstra in the second game of the day in Tampa. The Tech-Alabama winner advances to the Midwest Region's Sweet 16 Round next week at the United Center in Chicago.
Petty, who had scored 20 points in two games this season, went off for a career-high 24 points after matching a career-best with five 3-pointers while Moseley added 16 points - six more than his previous career-high – along with providing four rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots. Christian Anderson stayed true to his All-American form, providing 18 points, five assists and four steals and Donovan Atwell hit 4-of-6 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Tech had five players score in double figures with LeJuan Watts going for 14 points and six rebounds before fouling out with about 10 minutes to play while Luke Bamgboye provided six rebounds and a block.
Tech avoided the upset bid from the Zips (29-6) who came into the NCAA Tournament on a 10-game winning streak and having won 19 of their last 20 games. A 5-12 matchup can sometimes be intriguing but wasn't something the Red Raiders spent their time leading into the game. Defensively, Tech held Akron to six fewer 3-pointers than its average, to 17 fewer points than the 88.4 points per game the Zips averaged coming into the game and also had a 32-25 rebounding advantage. Seeding was never part of the game plan and nothing about Akron was overlooked.
"We didn't talk about it, honestly," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "I've played in this game as a 13 seed. I try to show them the realities of this. This team's stinkin' good. They can put pressure on you. Let's not make this more than what it is. If you put the number by somebody's name and try to determine how hard you're going to play by a number, then you're dumb. To me, let's look at what they do well and let's try to take it away and let's talk about what we do well that they can't handle and let's really focus on that. We focused on game plan, effort, and how do we execute on every possession."
The Red Raiders finished the game 11-for-20 (55.0%) on 3-pointers and now has 380 made 3-pointers – breaking the program record of 371 last year's team set - while limiting Akron to only 5-for-19 (26.3%). Petty, who also had five 3s against Houston and TCU in Big 12 play, went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers in the game while Anderson made two. Tech has now made 10 or more 3s in 26 of 33 games this season and is now shooting 39.7% as a team from beyond the arc. Up 40-35 at halftime, Petty and Atwell both hit 3-pointers coming out of the break to set a second-half tone. A true freshman from Seattle averaging just under 10 points per game entering the tournament, Petty was 9-for-14 overall from the field and also had four assists and three rebounds.
"It's always team," Petty said. "They trust me, I trust them, and I'm never worried about that. I'm worried about competing and trying to win. It's always team."
Moseley scored 10 points in a road win over then-No. 4 Iowa State for his season high and had 10 points once last season as a freshman at Villanova. In his first season at Tech and playing in just his 13th game this season, Moseley went 7-for-8 from the field and had three offensive rebounds. Tech led 64-60 when Watts fouled out with 9:42 remaining and saw Moseley step up. A dunk from Moseley gave the Red Raiders a 69-62 lead and a second-chance bucket from him had the team up 75-64.
"If there's anybody that we've coached hard these last two weeks, it's Josiah Moseley," McCasland sad. "He just started practice, his literal first practice in a Red Raider uniform was January the 28th. He's had to make some quick adjustments and he's had to improve in a short amount of time in a tough league, in the best league in college basketball. So, man, did he respond tonight. I thought that he had a few big-time defensive effort plays where he got some blocks, but his ability to switch and guard the ball really was a difference maker, one. And, two, his force on the rim, his ability to get the ball and not settle for a difficult shot to go away from the basket, but I thought he put his nose to the rim and bounced it and went right to the basket and had a great dunk in transition."
The 15-2 extended run included an 11-0 run – capped by a Petty 3-pointer for an 80-64 lead with four minutes remaining and another Moseley dunk pushed it to 84-66.
Texas Tech took a 40-35 lead into halftime after making six 3-pointers and having a 20-16 rebounding advantage. Petty led the Red Raiders with 10 points after going 4-for-7 from the field, including making 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Atwell was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers to go into the break with nine points while Anderson had seven points, three assists and three rebounds. Bamgboye led Tech with six rebounds and Watts added six points and five rebounds. The Red Raiders, who were 6-for-11 on 3-pointers, led throughout the first half and built up a 12-point lead with an 8-0 run to take the score to 37-25 with four minutes remaining in the half. Bamgboye gave Tech a 2-0 lead on the game's opening possession and Petty's first 3 gave Tech a 9-5 lead. Petty's second 3 pushed the lead to 18-12 and Atwell's third gave the Red Raiders a 29-20 advantage. The lead was in double digits after a Watts inside shot and an Anderson jumper for the 12-point lead and 8-0 run. Scott led the Zips with 13 points and Lyles had 12 at the break. The Red Raiders shot 15-for-26 (57.7%) and the Zips were at 13-for-33 (39.4%) through 20 minutes.
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