Hogs Upset Bid At Texas Tech Falls Short

Arkansas fought valiantly in the first half but Texas Tech caught fire from deep early in the second half and were too much for the Hogs, winning 67-64. Arkansas forced turnovers in the first half, weathered a lot of time with Daniel Gafford on the bench due to foul trouble, but the Red Raiders’ guards caught fire in the second half.

It was a balanced scoring effort for he Hogs, as four of the five of the starting Hogs hit at least three shots. They were led by Gafford who had 16 points and five boards. Jalen Harris and Mason Jones hit double figures as well. The Hogs struggled to make outside shots, going just 4/19 from deep. Isaiah Joe struggled again after his great game against Missouri, going 0/5 from deep.

In the first half, the Hogs were swarming on defense, especially after Gafford went to the bench due to early foul trouble. They switched into a matchup zone that the Red Raiders weren’t prepared for and it led to a ton of turnovers. The Red Raiders had 15 first half turnovers and the Hogs took advantage and went into halftime with a 33-30 lead thanks to a buzzer beater from Jalen Harris on the run.

In the second half, Texas Tech composed themselves and their shooters got hot. Like really hot. They were hitting contested threes and they jumped out to a 10 point lead thanks to a 22-9 run. The Red Raiders were 5/5 from deep during that stretch. After being contained in the first half, Jarrett Culver, their likely lottery pick, got loose. He had three of those shots from deep after scoring just three points in the first half on 1/5 shooting.

From there the Red Raiders held onto the lead for the remainder of the game. Arkansas had a solid game but was unable to maintain the level of play they had in the first half, which when playing a team like Texas Tech on the road takes a lot out of you. For the rest of the season the Hogs need to take that first half and use what worked there and put it into SEC play. Their next five SEC games will be much more manageable than their last five and will give them chances to pick up some more conference wins.