Harmon’s career-high 25 points lead Texas Tech to 74-67 upset of No. 6 Texas in Lubbock

Texas Tech 74, No. 6 Texas 67

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-12, 3-11 Big 12) picked up their fourth win in six games with a 74-67 upset of No. 6 Texas (20-6, 9-4 Big 12). The loss drops the Longhorns to even in the loss column with Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State and drops them into a tie with Baylor atop the Big 12 conference standings. 

The upstart Red Raiders led by as many as 13 early in the second half, but watched their lead disintegrate before winning the game with a late 6-0 run. Tech out-rebounded the sixth-ranked Longhorns 40-29, an important stat in a game played mostly evenly otherwise. The win is Texas Tech’s third straight at home in Big 12 play, and their third win over a top-15 team since Jan. 30.

United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock was packed to the gills with fans wearing black to welcome the hated Longhorns, hoping to storm the court after a win over Texas for the second straight season. With former Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard having been fired earlier this season at Texas, the Tech student section brought a little less venom Monday night but was no less loud or enthusiastic with an opportunity to knock off one of the country’s top teams. 

The Red Raiders helped add to the fever pitch early on, as senior forward Kevin Obanor scored the game’s first five points en route to a 7-0 lead through the first two minutes. But after Dylan Disu’s 3-pointer broke the seal for the Horns, Texas flexed its muscle with a run of its own to make it a one-point game at the first media timeout. The run would extend to 10-0 before Tech finally stemmed the tide, a stretch of more than four minutes without a bucket for the Red Raiders. 

Back-to-back 3-pointers by De’Vion Harmon see-sawed the Red Raiders back ahead 17-15 with 11:35 to go in the half, the second of which banked into the basket and sent the Tech crowd into hysteria. Texas guard Sir’Jabari Rice, who scored 24 points in the Longhorns’ blowout of West Virginia on Saturday, picked up where he left off with two quick 3-pointers of his own. With 9:46 to go in the half, Texas led 21-19 behind Rice’s team-leading eight points in just six minutes on the floor. 

Scoring slowed significantly as the second half went along, with neither team gaining much of an advantage heading into the final minutes before the break. In the half’s final four minutes, each team gained confidence offensively as the crowd noise increased in volume. The Longhorns and Red Raiders combined for five made threes over a stretch of just over two minutes, and Tech led by as many as five. De’Vion Harmon had an electric first half for Texas Tech, entering the break with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. 

Texas Tech extended its game-high lead to six with less than a minute to go before halftime, and De’Vion Harmon’s contested 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 44-35 Red Raiders at the break. Tech finished the half making six consecutive shots, putting the Longhorns on notice with 20 minutes to play. Marcus Carr led Texas with 11 points at halftime, but the Red Raiders held a 20-11 rebounding advantage. 

The Red Raiders’ lead reached double digits after Jaylon Tyson’s driving layup and ensuing free throw made it 47-35 in the second half’s opening minute, capping off a 10-0 run. 

The Longhorns’ next run followed before long. Texas outscored the Red Raiders 12-4 before the under-12 media timeout, trimming a game-high 13-point deficit to just five behind two Marcus Carr 3-pointers and a thundering dunk by Arterio Morris. With 11:49 to go, Tech led 59-54. 

Texas went more than four minutes without a field goal over the stretch that followed, but worked its way to the free throw line often enough to hang around – and after back to back 3-pointers by Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter, the Longhorns trailed just 64-61. After several defensive stops to keep the score right there for the Horns, Dylan Disu’s second 3-pointer of the night tied the game at 64 with just over four minutes to play. 

After all of the hard work it took for Texas to tie the game, three straight buckets capped off by Kevin Obanor’s loud dunk gave Tech back a 70-64 lead with 2:47 left. The Longhorns weren’t shooting the basketball poorly or turning it over much, but had been outrebounded by a significant margin all night by the energized Red Raiders. 

De’Vion Harmon’s driving layup with 35 seconds left increased the Red Raiders’ lead to 72-67, giving him a career-high 25 points on the night and putting Texas on the ropes. After two free throws by Kevin Obanor, Tech’s lead was seven with just 18 seconds to go. When the clock expired, a smattering of students rushed the floor in Lubbock as De’Vion Harmon dropped to the floor overcome with emotion. 

The loss opens the door for a litany of Big 12 teams, and provides Texas Tech with a much-needed confidence boost as they head into their final five Big 12 games. Marcus Carr led Texas with 23 points in the loss, one of only two Longhorns in double figures. Kevin Obanor’s 19 points, six rebounds, and three blocks helped lead the way behind De’Vion Harmon’s career night for Tech. 

No. 6 Texas will head home to take on Oklahoma on Saturday while Texas Tech travels to Morgantown hoping to salvage a season split with West Virginia.