Texas Tech Beats Texas in Rematch With Former Coach Chris Beard

Kevin Obanor had 17 points with five 3-pointers and 14th-ranked Texas Tech beat No. 23 Texas 77-64 on Tuesday night in Chris Beard’s return to an emotionally charged arena packed with fans who used to love the coach who took the Red Raiders to the national championship game only three years ago.

When Beard left the South Plains 10 months ago to become coach at his alma mater, and their most-hated rival, Red Raiders fans immediately started pointing to this chance to let him hear how they felt. It was raucous in the arena long before tipoff in the game to wrap up the first half of the Big 12 schedule, and stayed that way through the end of the victory that kept them undefeated at home.

Kevin McCullar had 19 points, including 12 made free throws, while Bryson Williams added 16 points and Davion Warren 10 as the Red Raiders (17-5, 6-3 Big 12) took sole possession of third place in the conference standings behind 10th-ranked Kansas and eighth-ranked Baylor — both teams that Texas Tech has beaten this season.

Obanor, Williams and Warren are all senior transfers, and among eight newcomers this season for first-year Red Raiders head coach Mark Adams. The 65-year-old Adams was Beard’s top assistant, then stayed and got the job he had always wanted as head coach of his alma mater.

Marcus Carr had 16 points to lead Texas (16-6, 5-4). Courtney Ramey had 12 points, all on his four 3-pointers before halftime.

Beard certainly got a much different reception in Lubbock than Rick Barnes got in Austin on Saturday night, when the coach who last took Texas to the Final Four in 2003 paid a visit with his Tennessee team. Longhorns players wore shirts during warm-ups that read “Thank You Coach Barnes,” and there was a video tribute before the game.

Multiple security personnel surrounded Beard when he first came out on the court a few minutes before the game to a cascade of boos.

Many students entered the arena by walking over a door mat with Beard’s face on it. Several times there were chants in unison using an expletive directed at Texas and Beard, similar to those that were heard when the Longhorns team bus arrived at the arena for a workout the day before the game. There were other vulgar chants, and obviously a lot of boos throughout.

Beard, also with the Red Raiders from 2001-11 as associate head coach for Bob Knight and then Pat Knight, had a 112-55 record the past five seasons as their head coach. Tech went to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2018, then a year later finished 31-7 with an overtime loss to Virginia in the national championship game.

After both teams traded a couple of baskets at the start of the game, with Ramey making a 3 for a 5-4 Texas lead, Tech went ahead to stay with a 15-2 run that Marcus Santos-Silva capped when he tipped in a missed 3-pointer by Daniel Batcho that first bounced on the rim several times.

The Longhorns were within 55-49 on two free throws by Carr with 8:44 left. They didn’t get any closer, Obanor then making a 3-pointer from the right corner that hit the side of the rim, bounced up and then went on.