Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Iowa State Cyclones Match Player Stats On Mar 09, 2019

Improved shooting fueled a timely run and led No. 8 Texas Tech to defeat Iowa State 80-73 on Saturday in Ames, Iowa, and earn a share of the Big 12 Conference championship for the first time in league history.

The Red Raiders would have won the Big 12 title outright if Oklahoma had beaten Kansas State on Saturday night, but the Wildcats handled their business, beating the Sooners 68-53.

Brandone Francis drained a clutch 3-pointer with 3:37 to snap a 65-65 tie and Jarrett Culver followed with a basket for two of his game-high 31 points to supply enough breathing room to hold on for the win.

Davide Moretti continued to quietly operate as one of the Big 12's off-the-radar standouts with 20 points and joined Culver with four 3-pointers as the Raiders finished 11-for-26 from outside the arc. Matt Mooney scored 13 and led Tech with five assists, while Tariq Owens snared 14 rebounds.

Iowa State's struggles down the stretch continued as it lost for the fifth time in the last six games. Marial Shayok and Lindell Wiggington led the way with 17 points apiece, while big man Michael Jacobson added 15.

The Red Raider comeback actually got rolling late in the first half when Tech (26-5, 14-4 Big 12) refused to let the Cyclones (20-11, 9-9) run away and hide.

Iowa State pushed its lead to 36-28 as the first half wound down, but the Raiders got 3-pointers from Mooney and Moretti - the second as the buzzer sounded - to close the gap to 36-34 at halftime.

Down 45-41 in the early stages of the second half, Tech reeled off a 10-0 run to take control. After shooting just 38.2 percent (13 of 34) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, the Raiders made 7 of their first 13 floor shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, to ignite the rally.

Tech finished the second half at 48.4 percent (15 of 31), made 5 of 12 from deep and was 11-for-11 at the free-throw line - part of a flawless 13-for-13 day at the stripe.

The Red Raiders' last conference title came in 1996 in the Southwest Conference when they rolled to a 14-0 finish in the final year of that league. Texas Tech's 14 conference wins this season equal that year as the most in a season.

--Field Level Media