The Texas Tech Red Raiders have advanced in the NCAA Tournament after beating Purdue 78 to 65. The Elite 8 berth is the first ever in program history.

The Red Raiders' fan base showed out and showed up in Boston to make TD Garden feel like home.

Here are 8 elite things that allowed Texas Tech to get through Purdue.

  • 1

    Toughness

    From wire to wire, Texas Tech just looked tougher than Purdue. Especially late in the game, Texas Tech outworked and outplayed the Boilermakers. The Red Raiders won the battle on the boards and forced 17 turnovers with their tenacity and grit.

  • 2

    Harming Haarms

    Isaac Haas couldn't play tonight, and his presence was sorely missed. His replacement, Matt Haarms, was completely out of his depth and had as many turnovers as he did rebounds. It didn't matter who Texas Tech put on him; it didn't make any difference.

  • 3

    Halftime Adjustments

    Head Coach Chris Beard is one of the best coaches in the nation at adjusting at halftime, and he did it again tonight.

    Texas Tech led coast-to-coast in the second half and owned the momentum. Beard put his offense in the correct places in the second half to get 48 points in the second half as opposed to just 30 in the first.

  • 4

    Bench Points

    Texas Tech's bench outscored Purdue's bench, 33 to 6.

  • 5

    Points Off Turnovers

    Texas Tech dominated the fast break game and held Purdue to just two points off turnovers. The transition defense was elite.

  • 6

    Free Throws

    Purdue was 6-of-6 from the line, but that didn't do much in the final line. Not nearly as much as the 17-of-18 from the line that Texas Tech poured in from the free stripe. This was especially important from a team that has struggled from the line down the stretch.

  • 7

    Keenan Time

    It was 58-55 with just over five minutes to play. Then, Keenan Evans hit two free throws and a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 63-55. An Evans assist later, and Texas Tech would have a 10-point lead and wouldn't look back.

    Evans finished with 16 points, going 9-of-10 from the stripe.

  • 8

    Who's Next?

    Texas Tech vs Villanova happens on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. on CBS.

  • BONUS

    What It Was Like in Lubbock When Texas Tech Won

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