Pop Isaacs ignites No. 25 Texas Tech basketball comeback against No. 20 BYU: 3 takeaways
Another home game, another comeback for the Texas Tech basketball team.
The 25th-ranked Red Raiders went into halftime down 48-32 against the visiting No. 2 BYU Cougars. Pop Isaacs came out with a fire in his eye and finished the game with a career-high 32 points to lead Tech to an 85-78 victory.
The Red Raiders maintained their spot atop the Big 12 Conference standings by improving to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
Woof, there it is
That about sums up the first 20 minutes of Saturday's game for the Red Raiders. The Cougars got the first eight points of the game and had their way with the Texas Tech defense.
BYU, coming into the game averaging 12.4 made 3-pointers per game, had 10 at the break. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders were 12-of-34 from the field total.
On the other end of the floor, no Red Raider other than Warren Washington was able to get much traction offensively. The 7-footer had 11 points at the break on 5-of-8 from the field.
Joe Toussaint continues his offensive struggles
For much of the year, Joe Toussaint was the offensive catalyst for the Red Raiders, both in point production and playmaking. The fifth-year senior has been neutralized by opponents over the last few games, and Texas Tech's offensive woes are a big part of it.
Toussaint missed all five of his shots from the field and only saw the floor for 10 minutes, 55 seconds in the first half. He was able to get to the basket on drives, unlike the last two games, but rarely looked to draw contact and finish, something he made a habit in the early portion of the season.
Toussaint was 3-of-9 against Oklahoma State, 4-of-13 against Kansas State and only got up four shots against Houston, making two of them.
His first bucket of the game came at an important time, though. He converted an and-1 in transition to make it a 62-60 game.
Pop Isaacs the savior for the Red Raiders
Isaacs was one who struggled from the field in the first half but he totally redeemed himself in the second half.
In helping the Red Raiders turn a 16-point halftime deficit into a 75-70 lead with 2:41 left, Isaacs hit 5 of his 7 attempts from 3-point range and had already tied his career-high of 28 points. Isaacs also had four assists and four rebounds in the second stanza, which helped turn the tied of the game for good.
What's next?
The Red Raiders, who split their two games against ranked squads this week, have a week to recover before a pair of road games. Texas Tech will visit Oklahoma on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip and follow that up with a trip to TCU next Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Pop Isaacs ignites No. 25 Texas Tech basketball comeback against No. 20 BYU
