Texas Tech star caps career-best performance with clutch overtime buzzer beater
Keenan Evans found the ideal way to atone for missing a potential go-ahead free throw in the waning seconds of regulation on Wednesday night.
The Texas Tech star buried Texas a few minutes later with a tie-breaking jumper as time expired at the end of the first overtime period.
After Texas guard Kerwin Roach banked in a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime to tie the score, Evans responded by dribbling up court and attacking off the dribble without the aid of a ball screen. Evans pushed off with his left arm to create space, pulled up from a couple feet inside the top of the key and knocked down the shot to give Texas Tech a 73-71 victory.
OT?
All ❄️ for Keenan Evans.pic.twitter.com/D7WQyfLS9h
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 1, 2018
It’s surprising that Texas didn’t try to force someone else to beat them considering the way Evans had torched them Wednesday night. The Big 12’s second-leading scorer finished with a career-high 38 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 18-for-210 shooting from the foul line. No other Texas Tech player even managed to score in double figures.
Texas Tech’s buzzer-beating victory adds to a charmed season for a program that has only made the NCAA tournament once since 2007. The 10th-ranked Red Raiders improved to 18-4 overall and 6-3 in the loaded Big 12, just one game behind first-place Kansas at the halfway point of conference play.
Texas did well to force overtime on the road at a top 10 opponent, but poor shooting doomed the Longhorns has it so often has the past two seasons. They shot 36.9 percent from the field and missed half their free throws en route to a loss that drops them to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.
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Jeff Eisenberg is a college basketball writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
