Pop Isaacs, Texas Tech basketball finding catharsis in the chaos

Nobody had to tell Pop Isaacs it was a must-win game Saturday in United Supermarkets Arena.

Playing in front of an announced sellout of 15,098 fans against another ranked opponent, the Texas Tech basketball team didn’t want to follow up Wednesday’s tail-whooping by No. 5 Houston with a clunker against No. 20 BYU.

The Red Raiders have had better halves of basketball than the first session against BYU. Grant McCasland likened Tech’s 48-32 halftime deficit to the team’s troubling half against Northern Iowa in the Bahamas during the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Texas Tech came back to win that game after being down 15 points. Adding another two points to the deficit against BYU was a new challenge, but one Isaacs was ready for.

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“I just didn’t want to let us lose,” Isaacs said. “That was my biggest thing. Anything it was gonna take to win, that’s what I was trying to do.”

McCasland said earlier this year that Isaacs can sometimes get too amped playing in front of the home fans, that he can try to put on too much of a show. That wasn’t a negative for Isaacs on Saturday.

“I love playing in this gym, man,” Isaacs said. “It’s so fun.”

In the second half alone, Isaacs was 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range, totaling 23 points. He also had four rebounds, four assists and two steals in his 18 minutes on the floor.

By the end of Tech’s 85-78 comeback victory, Isaacs set new career highs in points (32), made field goals (11), and made 3s (6).

After his historic day, Isaacs spoke to the media for the first time since being named in a civil lawsuit accusing him of “sexual abuse towards a minor” during the team’s Bahamas trip. Since the lawsuit became public Jan. 5, Isaacs said, all things considered, the last few weeks have been good for him.

“My teammates have been there for me,” Isaacs said. “They’ve had my back. I’ve been having fun playing the game of basketball, playing the game I love. Honestly, everything’s been pretty good.”

It doesn’t hurt he and his teammates have on-court matters to attend to. Beating BYU gives the Red Raiders (15-3, 4-1) their second win over a ranked team this season and keeps them tied atop the Big 12 standings for at least another week — along with Kansas State, which is also 4-1 in league play.

Isaacs said he’s not sure if McCasland pays attention to Big 12 happenings outside of their own team, but the players sure do.

“We always want to stay a step ahead in the standings and stuff like that,” Isaacs said. “You’re gonna get your bumps and bruises along the way.”

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On Saturday, he was sporting one of those bruises from the loss to Houston on Wednesday. Isaacs still had a bandage across his left eye necessitated from the physical encounter against the fifth-ranked Cougars. No blood was shed in Saturday’s contest, thankfully. It just took a major second-half turnaround, and for Isaacs to take the lead.

“He did what he does,” BYU’s Richie Saunders said. “He makes shots. That’s what he did.”

Texas Tech has now overcome double-digit deficits three times this year: the UNI game in November, plus each of the last two home games. McCasland would probably like to spare some of the drama, but he’s not questioning the results so far.

“If you want to be the toughest team, and you really believe that, then it’s 40 minutes,” McCasland said. “It doesn’t ever stop. It doesn’t matter what the score is. … I don’t really care what the score is. There’s a way to play this game and if you don’t play it with that grit, it doesn’t matter. The score is always going to not be in your favor.

“I’ll tell you, with this team, they do believe and they do see that.”