The crazy night in the Big 12 concluded in epic fashion. No. 3 Kansas knocked off rival Kansas State in controversial fashion. Then minutes later, Texas Tech took No. 7 West Virginia to overtime -- and sunk the Mountaineers with a last-second shot from Anthony Livingston to complete the 77-76 upset.
🏀🎥: Anthony Livingston for the win...Buckets! Red Raiders knock off No. 7 WVU in OT! #WreckEm#4to1pic.twitter.com/d2GqZzW0iH
— TexasTech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) January 4, 2017
The win is the biggest for the Red Raiders to date -- and potentially their biggest all season when it's all said and done.
Here are three things to know about Texas Tech's win:
1. West Virginia's press mindset was only mildly effective
This is shocking, especially if you've seen West Virginia play. They win by smothering teams. West Virginia is first nationally in turnovers forced per game at 25.69. Texas Tech only turned the ball over 13 times. That's pretty good against 'Press Virginia.'
2. This was a huge win for the Big 12 in general
Texas Tech was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12. The Red Raiders took Iowa State to the brink in Ames, and just knocked off a West Virginia team that will almost certainly finish in the top-three of the conference standings. Texas Tech is now 12-2 with its two losses coming on a combined nine points. The Big 12 has a lot of quality teams from top to bottom.
3. Chris Beard is one heck of a coach
Coming from Arkansas-Little Rock last season, Beard made a huge leap to the next level. First it was to UNLV for a short time, before eventually landing in Lubbock to replace Tubby Smith.
His first and only season at Little Rock he lead his team to a 30-5 record and became one of the hottest coaching names on the market. Long before that, he was an assistant at Texas Tech under Bob and Pat Knight. So he knows how to coach -- and has learned from some of the best. More importantly, he seems to be a perfect fit in Lubbock. Both of those traits have translated to early success under Beard in year one.