With 16.8 seconds left and Texas down one point, there was no doubt in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, about who was shooting the final shot.
Matt Coleman. Otherwise known to Texas fans as “Matty Ice.”
And in Thursday’s Big 12 postseason tournament quarterfinals matchup against No. 20 Texas Tech, the senior guard rose to the occasion, just as he has so many times throughout his four-year Longhorn career.
Battling his way into the paint as he did all game long, Coleman drew a foul with 1.8 seconds left and subsequently drained two free throws to give No. 13 Texas the 67-66 win over the Red Raiders.
“The biggest thing is (that) I trust him,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “He’s cool as a cucumber when pressure comes.”
Thursday’s matchup was anything but smooth sailing for Texas against a physical, aggressive Texas Tech squad. The Red Raiders forced 20 Texas turnovers, gobbled up 17 offensive rebounds and won seemingly every loose ball.
At one point, blood flowed out of a cut just above senior center Jericho Sims’ eye when he was battling for a rebound before the whistle was blown.
The irony of the situation? A loose ball foul was called on Sims.
“It’s always a war against these guys,” Smart said. “They did win more 50-50 balls. But our guys found a way. It was about finding a way when the chips are down.”
Smart had to play every chip to find a win Thursday night. Sims and redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones both found themselves in early foul trouble. But Smart put them in with 5:22 left, trusting that the two veterans wouldn’t pick up a fifth foul that would send them to the bench.
“I felt like at that juncture in the game, we had to have (Jericho) in,” Smart said. “We had to kind of roll the dice a little bit.”
A few possessions later, after three straight buckets gave the Red Raiders a 66-61 advantage, Smart made his second big substitution move, putting in sophomore forward Kai Jones and redshirt sophomore forward Brock Cunningham to shore up the defense.
Texas Tech didn’t score for the rest of the game.
The final 6-0 run was just one of several times Texas had to battle back after falling behind.
Out of the gate, the Red Raiders took an early 17-7 lead and had the Longhorns on their heels. Then, senior guard Jase Febres knocked down a 3-pointer that not only stalled Texas’ bleeding but also jumpstarted his own hot shooting night. He went 5-for-9 from behind the arc for a crucial 15 points off the bench.
“Just having Jase out there really gives us a different dynamic,” Coleman said.
Then, it was Coleman’s turn. The guard struggled in his first 15 minutes, but right before halftime he sank a corner 3-pointer and finished an acrobatic spinning layup to lead a 12-2 run.
That was all he needed to heat up, and his game-winning free throws were only two of his 19 points, which led all scorers.
“I had no doubt he was making those free throws,” Smart said.
Of course Smart had no doubt. After all, he’s watched from the sidelines as Coleman has hit clutch shot after clutch shot for the Longhorns, from a game-winning 3-pointer against Oklahoma in 2020 to a buzzer-beater mid-range pull-up against North Carolina in the Maui Invitational.
What’s two more free throws to Matt Coleman?
