3 keys to No. 25 Texas Tech’s 85-78 home win over No. 20 BYU

BYU blew another big second half lead Saturday night and fell 85-78 to Texas Tech at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

Leading 48-32 at halftime, the Cougars went ice-cold in the final 20 minutes and watched Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs put on a shooting clinic. The Las Vegas product finished with a game-high 32 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He was 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

Aly Khalifa led BYU with 21 points.

The Cougars played without starter Noah Waterman, who was out with a concussion suffered in BYU’s 87-72 win over Iowa State on Tuesday.

Here are 3 keys to the Cougars’ third Big 12 loss:

• Texas Tech upped its defensive pressure after getting cooked by BYU’s sharpshooters in the first half and forced eight BYU turnovers in the second 20 minutes. The Red Raiders scored 22 points off BYU’s 12 total turnovers to get the come-from-behind win.

• BYU has led in all five of its Big 12 games at halftime, but is only 2-3 in league play. The Red Raiders scored 53 points in the second half, as BYU’s defense disappeared in the second 20 minutes.

• After shooting 18 of 33 (55%) and 10 of 20 from deep (50%) in the first half, the Cougars misfired mightily in the second half and finished 31 of 70 from the floor and 13 of 39 from 3-point range.