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ESPNET SportsZone | Men's college basketball
There wasn't any net-cutting ceremony, war whooping or the usual pandemonium that is part and parcel of a team's behavior upon winning a championship.
Texas Tech expected to win the final Southwest Conference championship. The Red Raiders believed they would be going to the NCAA Tournament and knew they had a chance to reach great heights this season.
Therefore, the official conference clinching victory was nice, but it wasn't that big a deal.
"We've got a long way to go," forward Jason Sasser said. "Winning the title was only one of our goals, and so, we're not about to stop and celebrate now, there's a lot left to do yet."
Focus has become an overused word, but it certainly fits the Red Raiders. They haven't let up even as they outdistanced the rest of the league. If anything they're playing better with each game.
Their two most recent victims, Southern Methodist (75-54) and Texas (75-58), failed to top 60 points. The Mustangs scored only 21 in the second half.
"Our defensive intensity has been excellent this week," Texas Tech coach James Dickey said. "And we seem to be moving the ball around a lot better, with a lot of crisp passes."
The Red Raiders' defense isn't the only aspect of their game that is sparkling. The offense is explosive and multi-dimensional. Koy Smith is one of the league's deadliest outside shooters and at 6-foot-5, he's usually more than a match for any guard he draws.
Point guard Jason Martin is playing the best ball of his career right now and super soph Tony Battie, the SWC's Player of the Week, has really come into his own during the last month.
Cory Carr (15.7 points per game) is one of the nation's best sixth men. Dickey also has a stable of talented and experience frontcourters led by Darvin Ham and Gionet Cooper that gives the team plenty of depth.
"I don't think we've peaked yet," Ham said. "You've got to remember we lost two guys (to the NBA) and had to work in several new people, that takes time."
The Red Raiders' No. 8 ranking is the best in school history. They have won 17 consecutive games and 29 consecutive home games and will be attempting to close out the season with a perfect SWC record Saturday when they host the Rice Owls.
If they beat the Owls the Red Raiders will be 25-1, matching Arkansas' SWC regular season record set in 1977 and would make Tech only the third team in league history to go through the conference season undefeated.
Even that won't cause the Red Raiders to stop and celebrate.
"We've still got a lot to accomplish if we stay on our game and keep playing the way we've been playing," Carr said. "When it's over, we can celebrate. Right now we've got work to do."
Brooks gets new deal
University of Houston coach Alvin Brooks agreed to terms on a four-year contract Wednesday. Terms were to be disclosed at a later date.
Brooks' original three-year contract was worth $100,000 per year with $25,000 in additional income. He had been under fire from some quarters after the Cougars started slowly. But the team came on strong during the conference season, winning 15 of their last 18 games. The Cougars' 10-3 SWC record matches Texas' for second place, and the two teams will meet Saturday with the league's runner-up spot and second seed in the SWC tournament at stake.
Ringside
Texas A&M coach Tony Barone wasn't pleased with the no-call late in the Aggies' 91-89 loss to Texas Christian on Monday when the Horned Frogs' James Penney fell on top of A&M's Tracey Anderson after Anderson's 3-pointer tied the score at 89-89.
"It was a two-point takedown, clean," Barone said. "He probably could have pinned Tracey. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan probably would have been proud of what happened. We're going to open our new arena with a World Wrestling Federation championship match. The three officials at the game will be guest officials for that match."
Rising star
Kenya Capers, Houston. The junior from Mississippi has developed into one of the league's best sixth men and is averaging 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Falling star
Damon Jones, Houston. As starter as a freshman a year ago, Jones seemed to have a bright future. But the 6-3 sophomore guard has endured a shooting slump recently and has seen his scoring average fall. He hit rock bottom Wednesday night when he was shut out at SMU.
Quote of the week
"This feels like a dream, a sweet dream, and I don't want to wake up and have it be over." - Texas Tech's Cory Carr after the Red Raiders' clinched the final Southwest Conference title by beating Texas on Saturday in Austin.
Around the SWC
Baylor upset Rice on Wednesday night, meaning the surprising Bears could be the No. 4 seed in next week's Southwest Conference Postseason Classic if they beat Texas Christian on Saturday. The Owls finish the regular season at Texas Tech on Saturday. A loss to the Red Raiders would drop the Owls, who seemed like a strong candidate for the fourth seed before Wednesday's loss, to No. 6. ... The tournament will be held March 7-9 at Reunion Arena in Dallas. ... Texas' 75-58 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday was the worst home SWC loss for Texas since Tom Penders became coach. The Longhorns hadn't been beaten that bad at home since the 1983-84 season, when SMU beat Texas 103-72 in Austin. ... Texas' Reggie Freeman has all but wrapped up the SWC scoring title. Freeman is averaging 22.4 points per game and leads TCU's Damion Walker (20.9) by nearly two points with a game remaining. ... Houston's Tim Moore is averaging 11.7 rebounds per game, tops in the league, and is on a pace to post the school's best career rebounding average since Greg Anderson averaged 12.9 during the 1985-86 seasons. ... Texas A&M set an SWC record for assists in a conference game with 34 against Texas Christian on Feb. 26. Kyle Kessel recorded 15 of the assists. ... Baylor guard Rodney Smith has come on strong since moving into the starting lineup. In his last five games, Smith has 15 assists and no turnovers. ... Average attendance at SWC games this year is 5,288, a five percent increase over last year. Texas leads with 12,181 fans per game.
Jim Molony, longtime reporter/columnist for the now-defunct Houston Post, writes a weekly SWC notebook for ESPNET SportsZone.
