No. 20 BYU Takes On No. 25 Texas Tech In Big 12 Quarterfinals
Mar 13, 2024, 8:31 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Next up for BYU basketball in the Big 12 Tournament is a Top 25 matchup against No. 25 Texas Tech.
The 20th-ranked Cougars face the Red Raiders in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals.
It’s the second meeting between BYU and Texas Tech this season.
The first contest went to Texas Tech in Lubbock. BYU was up by 17 points, but Texas Tech guard Pop Isaacs scored 32 points to carry the Red Raiders to an 85-78 win over BYU.
You could say it’s a revenge spot for BYU.
“We owe them some payback for getting us in Lubbock,” said BYU guard and Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Jaxson Robinson. So we’re excited to get a second chance at them, and hopefully, we can come up with a win.”
The winner of this game will face either No. 1 Houston or TCU in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals on Friday.
BYU vs. Texas Tech
2024 Big 12 Tournament – Quarterfinals
Date: March 14, 2024
Location: T-Mobile Center
City: Kansas City, Missouri
Tip-Off: 10:30 a.m. (MT)/11:30 a.m. (CT)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM – Extended pregame begins at 9 a.m.)
How they got here in the Big 12 Tournament
BYU’s path in the Big 12 Tournament.
- Second Round: Defeated UCF, 87-73
Texas Tech
- Red Raiders had two byes into the Quarterfinals after earning the 4-seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
What you need to know about No. 20 BYU basketball
BYU was lights out from three-point range in their second-round victory over UCF. The Cougars hit 14 of their 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
Plus, BYU’s scoring was balanced. Eight different players scored eight points or more against UCF.
“It speaks to our depth. Anybody on the team can get theirs,” said Robinson. “We have a great set of guys in this locker room and we all just want one another to succeed. So I think it shows on the court and I think it really plays into our favor in a lot of games.”
Fousseyni Traore was BYU’s leading scorer on Wednesday. He scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
The Honorable Mention All-Big 12 performer is one of the strongest big guys in the conference.
Starting center Aly Khalifa continues to fast during Ramadan. He fasts from 6:20 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The 6-foot-11 big thought he would struggle yesterday, but he scored eight points and had five assists in the win.
A key for BYU against Texas Tech will be managing turnovers. Against UCF, BYU finished with 10. They didn’t have a turnover until the first half against the Knights, but the full-court pressure caused some headaches.
BYU had 12 turnovers in the loss at Texas Tech in January.
Starting point guard Dallin Hall is the player that makes BYU’s offense operate at a high level.
“He does what Dallin Hall does,” said BYU head coach Mark Pope after the win over UCF. “He stepped up and made a couple of huge shots. His ball protection under incredible duress was fantastic. I thought he was really special that way.”
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland has high praise for the high level of play from BYU this season.
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland on #BYU before Thursday's Big 12 Quarterfinal:
"A prolific offensive team and one of the most complete teams in our league. They can score. They can shoot it. They can go on runs. They’ve got great size at the rim and they’ve got great…
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 14, 2024
“A prolific offensive team and one of the most complete teams in our league,” said McCasland. “They can score. They can shoot it. They can go on runs. They’ve got great size at the rim and they’ve got great length at different positions. They don’t have a lot of holes. We’re gonna have to play our best basketball to win.”
Getting up to speed on the Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech finished the regular season with a 22-9 overall record and 11-7 in the Big 12.
First-year head coach Grant McCasland put together one of the best coaching jobs in the league this season.
The Red Raiders had two players make the All-Big 12 honors. Guards Pop Isaacs and Darrion Williams both earned third-team recognition from the conference.
𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝟏𝟐 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 – 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬
🆚 No. 20 BYU Cougars
🕕 11:30 a.m., Thursday
📍 Kansas City 🏟 @tmobilecenter
📺 @espn 2️⃣ 📻 @GunsUpRadio #TTW | @tootntotum— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 14, 2024
Pop Isaacs is the leading scorer for the Red Raiders, averaging 16.0 points per game.
Isaacs is number one in the Big 12 this season in offensive rating among players in at least 28% of possessions used.
The one problem facing Texas Tech right now is the health of center Warren Washington.
Washington, a 7-foot center, has a foot injury that has prevented him from playing in six of the last seven games.
Without Washington, everyone on Texas Tech’s starting five is 6-foot-7 or shorter.
Texas Tech is 4-3 in games without Washington this season. But they have won their last three without the former Arizona State transfer.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
