WICHITA, Kan. — In a powerful display of athletic prowess, Texas Tech stormed past Drake with a resounding 77-64 triumph during Saturday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament. Darrion Williams reached a personal pinnacle with 28 points, while JT Toppin contributed a commanding 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Red Raiders.
The victory for Texas Tech (27-8) not only halted the 11th-seeded Bulldogs’ aspirations of achieving their first Sweet 16 in over fifty years, but also earned them a place in the West Region semifinals against Arkansas, which is scheduled in San Francisco on Thursday night.
“Our guys were so composed and so tough,” beamed Texas Tech’s head coach, Grant McCasland. “That was a huge part of the win.”
Bennett Stirtz put up 21 points and Daniel Abreu added another 15 for Drake (31-4), but despite their best efforts, they were thoroughly outplayed in the paint by the larger and more robust Red Raiders.
“They played a fantastic game,” acknowledged Drake’s coach, Ben McCollum, one of McCasland’s closest friends. He noted the difficulty his team faced against Texas Tech’s formidable interior presence.
While Texas Tech had relied heavily on their outside shooting in overcoming UNC Wilmington in their prior match-up, setting a tournament record with 46 three-point attempts, the game against Drake required a shift in strategy. McCasland opted to emphasize an inside game, leveraging Toppin and Williams’ talents, especially following a minor injury to Williams that did not sideline him.
“We watched film and knew we needed to beat them inside-out,” Toppin reflected.
The game saw Toppin score 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the first half alone, with Williams at 14 by halftime. Their concerted effort allowed Texas Tech to string together a critical 13-2 run, ending the half with a 37-30 advantage.
The Red Raiders appeared adept at dissecting Drake’s defense, the second-best in the nation, possibly due to their prior scrimmage against them back in November.
“The reason we scrimmaged them,” McCasland explained, “was to test our defensive strategies.”
Their preparation paid off as they effectively contained Stirtz, restricting him to 9-of-19 in shooting, and kept Mitch Mascari scoreless from the field.
The Bulldogs remained close at 43-38 into the second half, but a technical foul on McCollum allowed Hawkins, who ended with 16 points, to convert four consecutive free throws. While Drake’s resilience saw them fight till the end, an unstoppable Williams and Toppin combination kept Texas Tech ahead.
Reflective of program ambitions, there is buzz around McCollum possibly moving on to an open coaching position with the Iowa Hawkeyes, given his Iowa City roots.
Texas Tech managed to progress to the Sweet 16 without a key player, Chance McMillian, out due to an upper-body injury. There’s optimism within the team that he might return to play.
Next on the agenda is a clash with John Calipari’s Razorbacks, where a victory would secure a coveted spot in the Elite Eight.
