College Sports: Red Raider Madness: Texas Tech's Road to First-Ever NCAA Men's Championship Game

Editor's Note: This story has been updated.

Follow us as Texas Tech men's basketball prepares for Monday's NCAA championship game against Virginia. The Red Raiders have overturned some major programs to reach this point, and SportsDay accompanies them throughout this tournament.

You can not get enough of the Red Raider March Madness trip in Minneapolis? Read our latest stories about head coach Chris Beard, second-year star Jarrett Culver, and the rest of the Tech program below. Do not forget to follow Big 12 insider Chuck Carlton, who participated in the cover of the Final Four.

Final square

national championship

The game is at the US bank stadium in Minneapolis.

First appearance in the title game

– Chris Beard believed in Texas Tech from the first day. His team listened and now plays for everything.

Just before the start of the summer training session in Lubbock nine months ago, coach Chris Beard sent words to the team that seemed premonitory.

– Beard has a message for Tech fans celebrating the team's final after the Lubbock riots

After celebrating the damage done by Tech fans on Saturday night in Lubbock, Beard called for a responsible celebration.

After the Final Four's victory over the state of Michigan, police announced that a car had been knocked down and several scooters burned in Lubbock near Tech's campus.

– The school is over! Tech cancels Monday night and Tuesday classes for national championship game

Tech is doing everything in its power to ensure that students and faculty can watch the Red Raiders compete against Virginia for the first-ever national title of the program.

– Jarrett Culver delivers another special souvenir after a forgotten start, Tech qualifies for the national championship

"It's crazy, I do not have words," said Matt Mooney, a former Tech graduate, about a win of a championship. "But I tell you, we'll be ready to leave."

– Go to the boat! Tech is at a victory of his greatest sporting moment in the history of school

After the Red Raiders' victory over the Michigan State, some people behaved a little less well – at the expense of a car and an electric scooter or two in Lubbock.

– When the technician needs it the most, Matt Mooney explained why he had the reputation of being a top scorer in South Dakota.

Matt Mooney came to Tech with the reputation and figures of a great scorer.

Despite all the changes that he has made to his game this season to blend in, this opportunity to resume a match has remained, as Michigan State discovered on Saturday in the Final Four. The young graduate from South Dakota scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half of a 61-51 win over Michigan State. The 22 points equaled Mooney's record.

– Lawrence Schovanec, president of Tech, at the championship race: "It's an unforgettable moment"

"There were people in those galleries who had waited all their lives for this moment," said Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. "You can feel the prevailing feeling there – it's great for the university – it's great for Texas – it's great for Lubbock. moment of a lifetime … very very special. "

– Tech faces Michigan State in Final Four, makes first appearance at NCAA championships

Five points to remember from the first victory of the Red Raiders in the Final Four.

Break the Final Four

– Behind Beard's "street dog" mentality, Tech is taking up the challenge of matching the toughness of the state of Michigan

"We are tough," said Tech striker, Tariq Owens, "just as the state of Michigan is tough".

Star Jarrett Culver pointed out that coach Chris Beard had introduced the Spartans as a model of resistance during the season.

"This is not the first time we see the MSU," Culver said. "Once we had the chance to play them, we already knew we had to deal with their toughness."

– "The best-trained team we've ever had": Why the Beard team has nothing to do with the legend of technology, Gerald Myers

If you want to know why Tech is playing against Michigan State in the Final Four, call Gerald Myers.

Look at many of Chris Beard's practices, Gerald?

"Every day," he says.

Your verdict?

"This defense," he says, "is the best I've ever seen."

– Tech to deal with a Michigan State team with similar qualities

In his first final, Tech may meet the only team in the NCAA tournament to boast of toughness and physical play as much as the Red Raiders. Michigan State, second in the standings, beat Duke 68 to 67 on Sunday in the East region.

– More Texans buy tickets on StubHub than in the country of origin of another school

Could Tech have an advantage on his field for his game against Final State against Michigan State? If the first reports on the secondary market are an indication, this could be the case.

More news and analysis

– From the intriguing first year to technological fame: how Culver's basketball DNA has been instrumental in its evolution to an NBA perspective

"Every time it's filmed, it's different when you see it in person – its length and speed, its ability to get where it wants to go," said John Brannen, Northern Kentucky coach. , about Culver before his team's match against the NCAA in the first round Technology. "The big guys always seem to have about 30% more to give, that's what it looks like, it always looks like it can be turned on anytime."

"It's a sign of an incredible talent."

– By developing neglected talent in the NBA's prospects at Tech, Beard has become one of the best coaches in college basketball.

This year, Beard has established himself as one of the best university basketball coaches. This comes from a guy who coached at Division II Angelo State as recently as 2015.

One of the main reasons why Beard is able to develop talent. He makes the most of his players.

– How a pre-season team building retreat became a launch pad for Tech's climb up to the Final Four

In October, just before basketball practice began, Beard put his team on a bus and headed south from Lubbock to an unknown destination. After traveling about 103 km, Tech arrived.

It was the Circle 6 Ranch in Stanton, a place usually used for church camps. This weekend, he became the launch pad for Tech's ascent to his first NCAA finals.

– For Norense Odiase technician, the NCAA Red Raiders tournament is an escape from reality

"I think about it every day," Norense Odiase said about the car accident that occurred last February, which had killed two of her cousins. "I'm not the same person at all, it's the one thing that really interests me, it's the team that wins and moves forward, other things will take care of themselves and the good God will allow me to overcome them. "

– In the adventure of Davide Moretti, who grew up in Italy and became one of Tech's most dangerous shooters

The work of which Davide Moretti speaks, the innumerable hours spent forging a cold-blooded shooter without fear of any situation, took shape long before he reached Tech.

Growing up in Italy, Moretti's friends went to the beach and headed for a nearby basketball court.

– Why this family has traveled more than 1,000 kilometers in Minnesota for Tech's first appearance in the Final Four

Joshua and Christina Moore, both technology graduates, and their three children – Luke, Zachary and Catherine – arrived in Minneapolis on Friday morning to attend their team's first appearance in the history of the event. ;school.

– Growing up, tech star Culver was a fan of … Texas Longhorns?

Jarrett Culver said that his father, Hiawatha Culver, was a big fan of the Longhorns, which extended to him and his older brothers, Trey and J.J.