Before Texas Tech embarked on its last road trip of the season, Tech coach Chris Beard told his players they weren’t going to play in the Final Four.
Instead, they were going up there to win the Final Four.
The third-year Red Raiders coach needed his team to not only visualize the goal, but hear it audibly before they made the more than 1,100-mile trek as one of the last four teams alive in the NCAA Tournament.
After a 40-minute dogfight, in which Matt Mooney showed the world his talents by scoring a season-high 22 points and Jarrett Culver helped close things out by scoring eight of the last 10 points, the Red Raiders defeated Michigan State 61-51 Saturday night inside U.S. Bank Stadium.
Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver on the national title game. #4To1 #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/SiJYr2S7V5
— Carlos Silva Jr. (@cmsilvajr) April 7, 2019
“I just knew it was my time tonight,” said Mooney, who scored 13 points in the second half. “I Just felt it. All week long, I told somebody in a press conference I saw the verse Joshua 1:9. .., That verse, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’ I was just thinking on that verse: it’s time to be strong and courageous. It was time to step up, and I just felt that tonight.”
Texas Tech (31-6) continues its unprecedented run for the program with a spot in the national title game against Virginia (34-3). Tipoff is set for 8:20 p.m. Monday and will be televised on CBS.
“We watched that game, but I play for a country and I couldn’t be more proud,” said Texas Tech sophomore guard Davide Moretti, who hails from Bologna, Italy. “I’m going to give my best and not have any regrets.”
Texas Tech’s Tariq Owens on the national title game. pic.twitter.com/5fZwK3dd8O
— Carlos Silva Jr. (@cmsilvajr) April 7, 2019
Mooney ensured he, along with his teammates, would play on the biggest and brightest stage by becoming assertive in the latter portion of the game.
After Nick Ward made a layup to close the Spartans’ deficit to 39-33 with 12:42 left, Mooney stepped forward.
The senior guard started by draining back-to-back 3-point goals that enabled Texas Tech to take a 52-43 lead with just over seven minutes left to play.
“He’s a special player, but I think the thing tonight was just how much courage you have to have to play on that stage and take and make those big shots,” Beard said of Mooney. “He was stone-faced, poised and when Tariq (Owens) went down, Matt found another level. When Culver was struggling a little bit, Matt found another level. It was a special performance.”
The Spartans continued to forge a late charge, closing within 52-51 after Aaron Henry made a layup with less than three minutes to play. But Tech closed the game on a 9-0 run.
“We remained poised when they made a run,” Tech senior center Norense Odiase said. “We were good on the boards. We battled with them. We were diving for loose balls and winning those 50-50 plays. Our pressure was good. I definitely felt we matched their toughness.”
Culver, who struggled to score for much of the night, was able to make a high-arching jumper to provide a 54-51 cushion with 2:29 left in the contest. From that point on, Culver scored eight of the Red Raiders final 10 points to salt away the win.
“Just all those hours and hours in the gym, you know?” Beard said of Culver’s performance. “You just stay the course. And success comes from work and preparation. As a coach, you just support that and remind them that you put all this time. I thought he did a great job trusting his teammates. He got a couple of assists, which I thought got him going and then he got a couple of baskets.”
Michigan State (32-7) finished with its lowest point total of the season as Tech’s trademark defense limited the Spartans to 32-percent shooting. Star guard Cassius Winston scored 16 points, but was only 4 of 16 from the field.
“First of all, I want to give a lot of credit to Texas Tech,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “On our National Championship rings, there’s a PPTPW — Players Play, Tough Players Win. Very seldom in my career have we kind of got out beat up, and tonight was one of those nights. … An incredible run, hat’s off to a very, very good Texas Tech team and very well coached. They hurt us tonight and deserved to win the game.”
— LUBBOCK ONLINE