Texas Tech Basketball

The No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers held a 10-point lead at the 10:22 mark in the second half of the men's NCAA national championship on Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Rather than fold under the pressure, the No. 3 Texas Tech Raiders surged back and tied the game at 59 following senior center Norense Odiase earning an and-1 at the bucket. 

Odiase got Virginia junior forward Mamadi Diakite to jump, causing him to make contact with Odiase as he was laying the ball in with 3:28 left in regulation. 

The play and free throw afterward gave Odiase his first points of the contest. 

Both programs are fighting for their first-ever men's title.

Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said he expects forward Tariq Owens to play in Monday's national championship game against Virginia despite being in a walking boot. 

"I expect him to [be available], but I'm not sure what'll happen," Beard told reporters Sunday. "He'll rehab it all day today and we'll see what happens the day of the game, but I expect him to play."

Owens rolled his ankle in the second half of Saturday's national semifinal win over Michigan State. He was assisted back to the locker room but later returned to action briefly before Beard decided to pull him again.

"I knew he was going to play [Saturday], even if he's not 100 percent healthy," Texas Tech guard Davide Moretti said, per Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. "I know he's going to play Monday. He's our guy. He's our magic guy. ... It's unbelievable."

Owens, a senior, averages 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 61.5 percent shooting but his value largely comes on the defensive end. An athletic springboard at 6'10" and 205 pounds, Owens is one of the best shot blockers in the country. He had three blocks in just 23 minutes of playing time against Michigan State.

"I'm good," Owens told reporters after the game. "We didn't make it this far to not play. I mean, this has been a dream of mine and nothing is going to stop me from playing."

Deshawn Corprew, whose playing time has dwindled during the tournament, may see more minutes if Owens is limited. 

MINNEAPOLIS — After he had guided Texas Tech to another stunning win and answered questions about it from TV and radio reporters. After he had soaked in the adoration of the faithful fans who followed his team here. And after he had walked down the steps of the raised court and embraced his family—Chris Beard broke into a full sprint. He blew by police officers and camera crews and stadium security. He passed doors in a blur and thundered through the last few hundred feet. And as he made the final approach to his locker room, he could hear the music.

While they waited for their head coach, Texas Tech's players bounced and sang along with "Dreams and Nightmares" by Meek Mill and "Yea!!" by Key Glock. Many of them expected that Beard would come in and request "Old Town Road," a viral country trap song by Lil Nas X that has become the team's anthem. But he told them that would have to wait. He said he was proud they knocked off another powerhouse basketball program in Michigan State, but that "Old Town Road" was on hold until after Monday night's national championship game against Virginia. "We enjoyed the win for about 15 minutes," Beard said. "But we came here to play 80 minutes of basketball, and we still have 40 minutes to go. I didn't want us to celebrate too soon."

It's the latest in a long line of creative motivational techniques that Texas Tech's enthusiastically eccentric coach has used on his players. And it'll be no surprise if this one works as well as all the others have on his team's remarkable run this postseason. Forget about the college dive bars filled with assistant coaches from across the country or the swanky cocktail parties populated by corporate executives, the best and most exclusive party in Minneapolis all week has been in Texas Tech's locker room. The Red Raiders' coaching staff takes celebrating so seriously that they travel with their own speakers and reserve the role of DJ solely to the head student manager.

I present to you the Old Town Road on the top (or technically the bottom) of a flipped car remix. pic.twitter.com/OpYjlkfjNw

— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) April 7, 2019

"We all love music, and we all love having fun," said redshirt senior center Norense Odiase. "Coach Beard actually writes 'Have fun' on the board and says it in speeches before games and practices. Whenever you're grinding and the season gets tough, you gotta know to have fun. You're a person. This is a game. We're going for a greater goal, but we're going to have a good time along the way."

The music tradition goes back a long way, to Beard's brief stint at Arkansas Little Rock in 2016. After 10 years as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Tech, Beard wanted to become a head coach and worked his way up from a semi-professional team in South Carolina to Division III and then Division II teams in Texas and, finally, to Division I with Little Rock. But the Trojans, members of the one-bid Sun Belt Conference, did not always have the best accommodations. On a road trip to play DePaul in December 2015, Beard and his staff realized that they had been booked at a hotel eight miles from the arena in downtown Chicago.

"We quickly realized that, in traffic, it would take an hour to get there," says Brian Burg, an assistant under Beard at Little Rock and now at Tech. "We were worried our guys were going to get lackadaisical or just tired. We came up with this idea to have music on the bus."

But Beard didn't want to use the bus' suspect speakers, so he gave a student manager his credit card and told him to come back with the best sound system he could buy. On the bus to the arena that afternoon, the players took turns picking songs, from rap to country to the Serbian national anthem. They didn't even stop the music when they got off the bus. They took the speaker and walked it into the locker room. And after they beat DePaul by 22, they blasted music on the way home too. The songs haven't really stopped since for Beard's teams.

This is Beard's third season at Texas Tech, and the team is already on its second speaker. The first, from JBL, lasted two years before the bass blew out. And judging by the way they make the concrete walls in the tunnels of a massive football stadium shake, the new QSC loudspeakers seem destined for the same fate soon enough. "Even if I have the volume and the bass maxed out," said Cooper Anderson, the head student manager-slash-DJ, "Beard will walk in and tell me to turn it up louder."

For Beard, blasting music is one of the many reminders to live in the moment. In his career, he spent years wondering if he'd ever get his chance to run a high-major program. And even now that he has coached one to consecutive Elite Eight appearances, he knows that it's no guarantee he'll ever get back to the Final Four or the national championship game. "A lot of what we do now dates back to the Division III days," Beard said. "What worked for us there helped us to get here. We're not going to stop being ourselves now."

His players realize that this run is once-in-a-lifetime. On paper, Texas Tech's roster doesn't scream title contender. The Red Raiders don't have a McDonald's All-American and they only have one top-100 recruit. That recruit, Jarrett Culver, is Texas Tech's leader in points, rebounds and assists this season, and has  blossomed into a likely top-10 pick in this year's NBA draft. But Tech's second-leading scorer, Matt Mooney, is a two-time transfer who started his college basketball journey at Air Force. Its third-leading scorer is Davide Moretti, a sophomore from Italy who went from averaging 3.5 points on 33.6 percent shooting a season ago to 11.4 points on 49.8 percent shooting this season.

"We weren't top recruits," said Mooney, whose 22 points carried the Red Raiders to their win over the Spartans on Saturday, "but we've believed from the beginning that we could beat anyone in the country."

In fact, before the season began, Beard told his players that he believed they had the talent to play on the final Monday night of the season. ("He might be psychic," Mooney joked on Saturday.) During the year, he has kept them motivated in a multitude of ways, from printing shirts that read "Never Lose The Chip" to taking them on impromptu frozen yogurt runs. And even during a brutal three-game losing streak in January or an opening-round exit against West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament, Beard has helped buoy his team by reminding them to remember where they came from and to "smell the roses." During this NCAA tournament run, Beard has told his players to treat each weekend like a two-game tournament, focusing on 80 minutes of basketball at a time.

Now, only 40 minutes remain. And like their final opponent, Texas Tech's final song is already locked in. Normally Anderson has to manage a tug-of-war between the players, who prefer radio hits and rap, and Beard, who likes a ratio of at least one country song for every three rap tracks. But everyone is in agreement about "Old Town Road," an unexpected hit from a previously anonymous artist that blends unlikely genres into something sensational. In that way, it's the perfect song for this Texas Tech team. And it's all any of them want to hear after the buzzer sounds on Monday night.

"We came here to win," Beard said, "and we'll dance when we've done it."

Texas Tech students will be free to enjoy Monday's national championship game without any hang-ups.

With the men's basketball team set to face Virginia for the program's first title, the school announced classes will be closed Monday night and Tuesday:

With @TexasTechMBB playing for a National Championship Monday night, classes after 5 p.m. on Monday and all day Tuesday have been canceled. Please see the attached memo for specific details. pic.twitter.com/rLbhXhbsTk

— Texas Tech University (@TexasTech) April 7, 2019

The Red Raiders have been in an incredible run through the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament, starting as a No. 3 seed but winning five straight games to reach the finals. The team had never been to the Final Four before last week, but a win over Michigan State has it one game away from a championship.

Fortunately, the school's president has decided to let all students watch the game instead of having to possibly deal with class Monday night.

With classes also canceled Tuesday, the potential celebration could last all night long.

Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver iced his team's 61-51 Final Four win over Michigan State in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament thanks to a back-breaking three-pointer with 1:01 remaining.

The Red Raiders led by 13 in the second half, but the Spartans cut the deficit to 52-51 with 2:55 left.

However, Culver hit a jumper to put Texas Tech up three. He later hit a free throw before his game-icing three to give the Red Raiders a 58-51 lead. 

Texas Tech will meet Virginia in the national championship on Monday at 9 p.m. ET. Neither team has won a men's basketball title.

The No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders upset No. 2 Michigan State 61-51 in the Final Four on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis behind a team-high 22 points from Matt Mooney.

The senior guard also led Texas Tech with four makes from three-point land.

Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver has been the main scorer, but it was all about Money Mooney in this one.

His 22 points matches the most he has scored this season.

The Red Raiders will now face No. 1 Virginia on Monday night in the NCAA national championship. Neither team has won an NCAA title in men's program history.

Matt Mooney has Texas Tech on the brink of its first men's basketball national championship after a 61-51 Final Four win over Michigan State.

The guard was the surprise hero for the Red Raiders on Saturday, as he finished with 22 points at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Jarrett Culver struggled for much of the night but scored eight of his 10 points in the final three minutes to help seal the game for the No. 3 seed.

Despite facing numerous programs with more past success in the NCAA tournament, Texas Tech continues to keep its dream run alive.

Michigan State's season ended in the national semifinals despite 16 points from Cassius Winston.

It was an ugly game throughout, as defenses ruled the day. The offenses especially struggled out of the gates. The teams combined to shoot just 30.6 percent from the field in a low-scoring first half. There was just seven combined points (and two field goals) over the final seven minutes before intermission.

Texas Tech was likely especially disappointed, considering it got no production out of its best player:

So, Jarrett Culver is 0-for-6 from the field, has more fouls (2) than points (1) — and yet Texas Tech leads Michigan State, 23-21, at the half.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 7, 2019

The team was fortunate to get help from role players, though—especially from Tariq Owens on both ends:

Oh my 🤭#MarchMadness https://t.co/9yg7nhkN73

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019

Nothing weak inside 😳#MarchMadness https://t.co/dV3nOBBgXz

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019

The center had seven points, four rebounds and three blocks before he suffered an ankle injury in the second half.

Matt McQuaid shouldered much of the load for Michigan State on the other end, scoring nine quick points to keep his team in the game.

These weren't the big names we were expecting to see make a difference, but neither team took much of an advantage before the half ended with a 23-21 Texas Tech lead.

Lowest scoring first half (44 points) in an NCAA semifinal since 2000, when Michigan State and Wisconsin combined for 36.

— John Niyo (@JohnNiyo) April 7, 2019

The Red Raiders continued to play well in the second half despite Owens' injury and Culver in foul trouble.

The key was the defense, which left few openings for Michigan State:

Texas Tech’s defense is just absolutely sick

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 7, 2019

Texas Tech does not allow a single easy pass. There's a reason it's the best defense in the KenPom era.

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) April 7, 2019

Are we sure Texas Tech only plays with five guys on defense?

— Max Meyer (@TheMaxMeyer) April 7, 2019

The Spartans shot 31.9 percent from the field and had 11 turnovers with just six assists.

Mooney took over on the offensive end, making big shots from all over the court:

Mooney is FEELING IT
Mahomes is loving it#MarchMadness https://t.co/KRhyqeJdEC

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019

Have yourself a game, Mooney 🔥#MarchMadness https://t.co/vyZqlWTdGj

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019

It's Matt Mooney's world, we're just living in it.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) April 7, 2019

The grad transfer finished 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range—hitting at least twice as many field goals as anyone else on the court for either team.

Michigan State slowly crawled back into the game by getting to the free-throw line, scoring six straight points at the charity stripe as part of an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to one.

However, this is where Culver came up big with a personal 6-0 run to give the Red Raiders some breathing room.

Better late than never, Culver. CLUTCH. #MarchMadness https://t.co/LTXRbhVRCR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2019

Although he went 3-of-12 from the field, he came through when needed.

Texas Tech ended up scoring the final nine points to close out the hard-fought win. 

The team will now take on Virginia for the national championship Monday in what will likely be a defensive struggle.

Texas Tech's first trip to the men's Final Four brought out some of the school's most famous alumni, including reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. 

The Kansas City Chiefs star was shown on camera taking in the Red Raiders' showdown with Michigan State on Saturday in Minneapolis. The winner will get a spot in Monday's national title game against Virginia. 

Mahomes spent three years at Texas Tech, throwing for 11,252 yards and 93 touchdowns in just 32 games.  

The No. 2 Michigan State Spartans are in battle with the No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday night. 

The Final Four matchup was in the early going when Texas Tech senior forward Tariq Owens introduced himself with a powerful one-handed dunk over Spartans junior forward Nick Ward. 

Red Raiders sophomore guard Jarrett Culver drew Ward from Owens and then passed it to his teammate. Ward tried to recover, but Owens was simply too long and athletic. 

There's still plenty of time left in this one, and the winner will go on to face No. 1 Virginia in the NCAA national championship. 

Tariq Owens was tall and skinny and uncoordinated but determined. He was 12 years old and a skilled football player, losing maybe two games in four years with his Pop Warner team in Baltimore.

But then his legs decided they wanted to be longer. His knees chose to creak in anticipation. His body just shot up and up and up, and soon he woke up at 6 feet. And where do 6-foot middle schoolers go?

"Dad," he said, sitting in the family's living room. "I want to play basketball."     

Renard Owens had been waiting to hear those words since the day his son was born. Growing up, nothing in life had made Renard feel the way he felt on the basketball court: calm and powerful and in love.

"Well, sleep on it for 24 hours," Renard said, wanting to make sure his son was all-in. "If you still feel the same way the next day, come to me."

The family debated what Tariq should do. His sisters, Sadiyyah and Napheissa, and his mom, Cassandra, voted for football. Renard, basketball. And Tariq, a quiet kid who tended to blend into the background, didn't utter more than a few words.

"I want to play basketball," he said to his dad, lying in bed underneath his SpongeBob covers, head on his New York Knicks pillows (his dad was born in Queens).

"All right," Renard said. "Now listen, we're not stopping. You say you want it, so from this point on, we're doing it. We're going all the way in."

Tariq nodded, excited, as his dad began to walk out.

"Tariq?" Renard said, a smile flashing across his face. "I'm always here for you. I'm not letting you go."

---

Renard didn't let his son go when tragedy struck the family that year. Or when Tariq could have quit basketball. Or when recruiters later doubted Tariq's size and basketball abilities.

He's too skinny.

He's too small.

He's never going to play major college basketball.

He needs to eat more cheeseburgers or SOMETHING! Why can't the kid put on any weight?

No. Renard didn't let his son go, either, when his commitment to Ohio University did not come to fruition. Ohio's head coach left for another program, and Owens decided to embark on a journey that led him to play for Tennessee, then St. John's, where he led the Big East in blocks—and finally, now, for Texas Tech as a graduate transfer.

"This just feels right," Renard says. "Like the stars and the moon are lining up."

It does feel right that an underrecruited, underrated player who never quite fit the mold is a focal point of the Final Four's most exciting team. The underdog Red Raiders, in their first ever Final Four, are just two wins away from a national championship.

They own the nation's best defense, and Owens is a big reason why. He plays hard. Plays so much bigger than his 6'11" body. He doesn't just block shots; he alters them. Intimidates anyone from coming into his lane. He anticipates, then attacks. Truly believes the rim is his, every shot is his. He takes it personally when the ball soars past his fingertips. And his athleticism allows Texas Tech to switch on screens, because he can guard positions 1 through 5.

TARIQ OWENS. WHAT. A. BLOCK. pic.twitter.com/3d7yiIpS0R

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 31, 2019

"There's no such thing as taking a play off," Owens says.

As time wound down against Gonzaga in the final game of the West Regional in Anaheim, California, Owens walked to the other side of the court. He began to shimmy a little bit, smelling blood, sensing victory.

He balled his hands into fists, but then a giant smile broke across his face. It's a smile that anyone who knows Owens has seen before. It's a smile that says, I'm choosing joy because I have been tested so many times before.

---

Tariq was his mother's Velcro strip. Always at her hip. If she was in a room, he'd wiggle his way in there, too. She cheered so hard for him at his football games, bringing cowbells, whistles, streamers. Anything she could to play her part. She was proud of him.

He was 13 when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2009.

It was devastating, watching his mom's health decline. She wasn't able to talk much. Every day after school, he would drop his black bookbag in her room and sit next to her for hours as she lay in bed. He wouldn't say anything. He just needed to be near her.

She died nine months later.

Tariq could barely put one foot in front of the other. Seventh grade, eighth grade—they were painful. Everything reminded him of her. The way she cared for everyone. How she valued education, telling him and his sisters since they were babies that they would be going to college. She knew all of their teachers on a first-name basis, and she'd create friendly competitions for her children to see who could earn the most A's.

She put her soul into everything she touched, from her hugs to her meat loaf, a family favorite. She and Renard instilled discipline and work ethic:

We don't quit.

Don't allow anyone to outwork you.

We don't make excuses. We don't play the victim.

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

But every day, Tariq was just trying to not fall apart. Naturally introverted, he drew further into himself. Wouldn't say much. Wouldn't let anyone know he was hurting. But it was obvious. "His spirit wasn't there," says Don Aaron, his longtime trainer.

Renard, a lieutenant in the Baltimore Police Department, worked long hours to provide for the kids and to keep them strong. He told them this moment could break them. They had every right and reason to give up on life, but they couldn't. They just couldn't. They had to keep pushing.

"Who you depend on is in these four walls," he told them.

So they clung tighter together, especially Renard and Tariq. On the court and in the car. Renard would drive Tariq hundreds of miles in his Ford Windstar minivan to Virginia, New York, North Carolina, to give his son better access to trainers and viewing tournaments that had top players ranked above him. Grabbing his son's rebounds, Renard would tell him to keep his head up, keep pushing.

I'm not letting you go.

---

On the basketball court, Tariq could transport himself to somewhere else. Somewhere that didn't hurt. He could yell and grunt and jump and scream. He could block shots. Feel powerful. Peaceful.

No matter how down he felt, he could count on the court. It was the exact same way on a Monday as it was on a Friday. The hoop remained 10 feet tall. The ball still bounced when he dribbled it.

"Basketball saved my son," Renard says.

Basketball, he could control. Work ethic, he could control. And he knew nothing would be harder than losing his mom.

So when his teammates would groan at rebounding drills, sprints, two-a-day practices, Tariq became excited. He started to take the initiative and want to work out for himself, not just because of his father.

But as he went to high school, his heart would break again. He was cut from the JV team at Arundel High, in Gambrills, Maryland, outside Baltimore. Renard told him to be patient. Remember the feeling. Work.

So his son did that, working with his dad as well as Aaron and his other trainer, Jerard Rucker. Tariq would run 200 meters on the track pushing a 45-pound sled. The next kid, who was working out with him, would take the sled and sprint from there. They would do it until each had sprinted 6-8 times. It was grueling. "Most kids will wither away," Aaron says. "But he was motivated."

He began to envision the life he wanted to live one day, hopefully from playing in the pros, and came up with this mentality: $10 or $10 million—which did he want to have? It wasn't necessarily about the money; it was about pushing himself as hard as he could go and not taking life for granted.

But how would he make his mark? He played varsity at St. Vincent Pallotti High in nearby Laurel after transferring there from Arundel, then did a postgraduate year at Mt. Zion Prep in Lanham, Maryland. But he was playing with a bunch of guards who rarely passed the ball into the post. He figured out a different way to contribute: Defense. Shot-blocking. Energy. "That's when that dog mentality was born," Renard says.

One game, during his prep season at Mt. Zion Prep, Tariq recorded nine blocks. At one point, in a single sequence, he swatted a shot, rebounded the ball, gave it to his point guard, sprinted all the way down to the other end of the floor, caught a lob off the backboard and hammered home the dunk. "A kid his build, his height? That ain't supposed to happen like that," says Rodrick Harrison, his coach at Mt. Zion. "He was special."

He became one of the best players in Maryland but was still underestimated. Evaluators liked his length, his tenacity, but doubted if he could cut it at the next level. They said he was too skinny. Too small.

Didn't matter to Renard. He told his son not to listen to anybody. Reporters, scouts. Nobody.

Can't measure heart, he'd tell Tariq. Son, they can't measure your HEART.

---

Once again, however, Owens faced something he couldn't control, when Ohio's coach, Jim Christian, left for Boston College and he had to find a new school—quickly.

He chose Tennessee. He walked into the Knoxville gym at 6'11" and maybe 170 pounds. Not the frame of a guy who looked like he could bang in the SEC. But the coaches liked his defense, his shooting ability. Most of all, they liked his heart.

"He played with a chip on his shoulder because he was a really underrated kid," says Al Pinkins, a former Tennessee assistant who's now the associate head coach at Florida. "He had all the potential in the world to be a really, really good player."

But he needed to put on weight first. He didn't really like to eat, and even when he did empty the fridge, he still couldn't put on weight. That's always been his struggle. He labored to get stronger, adding about 10 to 15 pounds that year, but hardly left the bench. He might go in for a few minutes one game, but then he wouldn't play the next three.

Still, he was always upbeat, always positive. He has always been that way. "He's a super-even keeled kid. He's got a peaceful aura about him," his sister Sadiyyah says. "He just has a calming presence about him."

Calm, yes. Satisfied? No. He hustled to earn more minutes. "He practiced hard every single day," says Chris Shumate, a former assistant coach at Tennessee who's now at Northern Kentucky. "He never had a bad day because his energy was consistent. He was an energy-giver. A very humble spirit who just wanted to get better."

That meant challenging the veterans, Armani Moore and now-Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson. Moore was a hard-nosed power forward. One practice, about a month into the season, Owens blocked two of his shots. The two were talking trash to each other. "For the first time, Tariq showed he was willing to bark back to the alpha dog," says Donnie Tyndall, the former Tennessee head coach who's now with the G League's Grand Rapids Drive. "He wasn't afraid."

Especially not against LSU. He caught the ball baseline, rose up and thundered home a dunk over Jordan Mickey for the and-1 play. That was Owens' coming-out moment. He even made SportsCenter.

"Coach! I could have been doing that all year if y'all would have given me the chance!" Owens said to Pinkins afterward, laughing.

"You know what, Tariq, you got the minutes now," Pinkins said. "Keep doing it."

If only Owens could have. After the season, Tyndall was fired, as he was the subject of an NCAA investigation into his former program. Former Texas coach Rick Barnes replaced Tyndall, but when Owens and his father met with the new coach, they did not get a sense that there was going to be a place for Owens. Barnes had his own recruits.

Owens had to keep pushing, keep moving. Again.

---

Owens chose St. John's, wanting to be coached by Chris Mullin, the former NBA star. And as pickup games started, Owens didn't disappoint. "Right away you saw he was a ferocious shot-blocker," says Malik Ellison, a former St. John's teammate. "He'd just come out of nowhere."

Though he was one of the tallest players, he'd finish at the front with the guards during sprints, determined to carve out a role for himself. And though St. John's had a lot of guards and he didn't get to display much of his scoring abilities, his soft touch around mid-range, he'd become a force in the paint defensively and one of the Big East's premier rim-protectors.

His 94 blocks last season for St. John's were tied for second-most in school history and ranked eighth in the nation. His 163 blocks are the fifth-most in the school's history. He managed to average 8.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

"He was a great leader," Ellison says. "He wants to win no matter what. At all costs. He doesn't care about himself, getting the ball, getting shots; he just wants to do whatever it takes to win the game."

Don't let anyone outwork you.

Owens kept to his father's words, working to build more muscle. He'd force himself to eat double the amount of food with the team in the cafeteria, determined to get bigger. And he graduated. But he felt he had more to give.

He wanted to reach the NCAA tournament. And he wanted to put himself in the best position to showcase his complete game, hoping to turn pro. Texas Tech seemed like the right destination for his graduate year after a conversation he had with coach Chris Beard.

"Tariq," Beard told him. "If you come here and work hard, I promise you, you're going to get everything you want."

Owens has seen promises dissolve, commitments broken. But this felt different. Because Beard is just like him: a grinder. The coach spent time at community college and the Division II and III levels before taking the helm at Texas Tech. Owens felt understood. Seen.

So he put his faith in Beard's promise.

"I've never seen anybody work as hard as him and his staff on this level of basketball, and that's the main thing that attracted me here," Owens says. "He's a workaholic, and I appreciate that coming from a head coach because I know how hard I'm willing to work to be successful, and he's willing to work even harder."

---

The summer heading into this season, in Lubbock, Owens did two things: Eat and lift. John Reilly, the team's strength and conditioning coach, worked to transform Owens' body by mandating that he eat around 6,500 calories a day and lift twice daily.

It worked. Owens has put on 25 pounds of muscle. He's still slender, still lean, but has proved to be a lot stronger than he looks. He blocked eight shots against Memphis in December, to go along with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

And he fits on a team where some of his new teammates had their own stories of being overlooked, underrecruited.

"We don't have any McDonald's All Americans. We don't have anybody on our team that has been given anything," Beard says. "We got a chip on our shoulder. We weren't supposed to be here. They picked us to be bottom half or last in our league.

"We respect everybody's opinion and fear no one."

Nowadays fans come up to Renard and say, "Oh, you're Tariq's dad!" "He has definitely found a home," Renard says. "Not to say any of the other schools he went to weren't good, because they were. They wasn't bad situations at all. But Texas Tech is just right. It's the perfect fit for him."

Renard cheers hard during games, just like his late wife would. He gets more joy from watching Tariq play than he ever did touching a ball himself. And it's not because his son can jump high or stuff a stat sheet.

It's because he didn't give up. He chose to lean on those who have always been there, in those four walls. Tariq still allows Sadiyyah her ritual that she's followed since childhood. She comes from behind him and surprises him and picks him up, even though he towers over her now. She has to let him know she's still big sis, and that he isn't big-time now, even though NBA scouts are paying attention to him.

This moment is bittersweet for them. Cassandra never got to see her son blossom into the basketball player he is.

But when Tariq cut down his piece of net after beating Gonzaga in the Elite Eight, Renard thought about how proud Cassandra would be. All of her kids have graduated from college, just as she had dreamed. One has a master's degree and the other two are working toward the same.

"Look at my son," he thought at that moment. "Look at my baby. Your mother is smiling down on you. She would say, 'Well done, my son. Well done.'"

             

Mirin Fader is a writer-at-large for B/R Mag. She's written for the Orange County Register, espnW.com, SI.com and Slam. Her work has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the Los Angeles Press Club. Follow her on Twitter: @MirinFader.