Texas Tech vs. Illinois: No. 16 Red Raiders Go 23 of 26 at the Line to Hold Off No. 3 Illini 84-78
No. 3 Illinois made more shots from the field, but No. 16 Texas Tech made 15 more free throws, built a 22-point lead and never trailed in an 84-78 win in Lubbock.
Photo: Texas Tech Athletics. Cruz Davis, official roster photo. Card design: The Dyme.
FINAL, United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, Texas: No. 16 Texas Tech 84, No. 3 Illinois 78.
Illinois made 30 field goals. Texas Tech made 26. The Illini still lost by 6, because the free-throw line went 23 of 26 for Texas Tech and 8 of 19 for Illinois. By our count from the ESPN box, Illinois won the two-point battle by 6 (40-34) and the three-point battle by 3 (30-27). Texas Tech's 15-point edge at the line covered all of that and then some.
Texas Tech led 49-29 at the half and by as many as 22. Illinois shot its way back after the break and won the second half 49-35. Andrej Stojakovic's layup made it 65-64 with about 5 1/2 minutes left, per the AP. Damarion Dennis answered with a 3. Stojakovic's free throws made it 68-66 at 4:49, but Donovan Atwell's 3 at 4:01 made it 71-66, and Illinois did not get closer than 4 the rest of the way. ESPN's game data shows the Illini never led at any point.
Who carried it
Cruz Davis scored 20 with 5 assists in 38 minutes, and 13 of those points came in the first half, per the AP. Jamichael Stillwell had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his season debut, including 6 offensive boards and 7 of 8 at the line. The AP reported that the UCF transfer became eligible after a temporary restraining order last week. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 15 on 7-of-12 shooting before he was helped off with an apparent lower-body injury in the second half. Donovan Atwell had 13 points and 5 steals.
Texas Tech won the glass 43-32 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to Illinois' 10. The Red Raiders had 13 steals.
For Illinois, Quentin Coleman scored 19 on 7-of-9 shooting, 5 of 6 from three. Stojakovic had 18, with 14 in the second half, per the AP. Tomislav Ivisic scored 14. Stefan Vaaks went 2 of 6 at the line and 2 of 10 from three.
The context
The win extended Texas Tech's nonconference home winning streak to 49 games, per the AP, and the Red Raiders are 103-1 in nonconference home games since December 2013. Texas Tech is still without JT Toppin, who tore the ACL in his right knee last February. Roundtable reported that Illinois was the highest-ranked nonconference opponent ever to visit Lubbock.
Texas Tech is 3-0 and hosts Stonehill on Saturday. Illinois falls to 2-1 and hosts Sam Houston on Friday.
Sources
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