Last night the 25th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders went to Ames, Iowa, and took a top ten team to the brink with only seven Red Raiders suited up for the game. Iowa State, at full strength, closed as a 5-point favorite which will be important in a second.

A couple of notes on the actual game first. The Texas Tech defense was dominant for huge stretches of the contest. Clarence Nadolny took advantage of his first career start notching a career-high four steals and being an absolute pest on defense. Adonis Arms played the full 40-minute game and pulled in eight rebounds and four steals as well. Kevin Obanor led the team in rebounds with nine while Davion Warren led the team in points with 12.

The defense was great on both ends of the floor, but even with the Iowa State defense, it was Texas Tech that just couldn't take advantage of opportunities on offense most of the game. Namely the free throws where the team finished 6-15 as opposed to the Cyclones 14-19 from the charity stripe.

Iowa State would build a 12-point lead by halftime, but the Red Raiders clawed back in the second half. Not allowing a single point from Iowa State through the first 7 minutes of the second half and didn't allow a cyclone basket until 10:23 left in the second half. Ultimately, the Red Raiders tied the game with just under three minutes left and took the lead with a steal and dish from Nadolny to Marcus Santos Silva.

This was after a weird technical foul on Nadolny just a few minutes prior that halted a separate Texas Tech run. Some ugly play by both ends, including a possession from Texas Tech defensively that saw multiple fouls on Texas Tech, the Cyclones held a 5-point lead with 1:21 left in the game.

Remember, Iowa State closed as the 5-point favorite in Vegas.

That four-point lead would get to as much as 7-points after some free throws and questionable calls from the Big 12 officials including an offensive foul on Davion Warren while he was shooting a three-pointer.

Isaiah Brockington made two free throws with less than three seconds left to get the score to 51-44. Texas Tech was beaten and had shot 2-16 from three during the game.

Then Adonis Arms did this and Geoff Haxton and Chris Level knew the implications on the Learfield Sports broadcast right away. The final was 51-47.

A four-point win, and a Texas Tech cover.

They were also paying attention on the Vegas Sports and Information Network where the hosts had Iowa State +4.5, but Texas Tech was there to play the spoiler after Shaun King said there was, "no way" the shot from Arms was going in.

Now Texas Tech will try to play spoiler to Kansas who comes to Lubbock this weekend as Texas Tech will take a roster with a day-to-day list including Kevin McCullar, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Mylik Wilson, as well as a potential health and safety protocol return of Daniel Batcho, Chibuzo Agbo, and Sardaar Calhoun.

Hold on to your horses Texas Tech fans, this season could get crazier before it gets better.

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