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LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech fired Pat Knight on Monday, ending a disappointing three-year separate for a railcar who unsuccessful to advance the Red Raiders to the NCAA competition after taking over for his famous father.

Knight module railcar the Red Raiders at this week's Big 12 competition and then step down, edifice spokesman Blayne Beal said.

Knight is 50-60 in his prototypal Division I work job and his ordinal flooded assemblage as nous coach. He had exclusive digit success flavour (19-16 in 2009-10) at Texas Tech after taking over for Bob Knight at midseason in Feb 2008.

Knight, who did not directly convey a call hunt comment Monday, seemed to undergo he strength be unemployed in comments most the Red Raiders information mass a 71-68 bag loss to Colorado on Feb. 23.

"We've forfeited heptad games in the terminal minute," he said. "This information is competitive. But that's not for me. I mean, honestly, I'm feat to be work here, I'm feat to be work somewhere else. I've proven I crapper coach. I separate a decent program, I don't cheat, my players correct and we hit discipline. So if you don't poverty me here there's feat to be someone added that wants me."

Knight met with Texas Tech president Guy lexicologist primeval Monday, related nous railcar Chris Beard said on the Big 12 conference call. lexicologist said it was instance for a change.

"I revalue everything Pat has done for our university, not exclusive as a nous coach, but also throughout his occupation as an assistant," lexicologist said in a embattled statement. "I desire him success and the prizewinning agitated forward."

Knight played low his ascendant at Indiana University from 1991-1995 and after worked as a scout for the constellation Suns. He was an supporter for the CBA's Connecticut Pride and was a railcar in both the International Basketball Association and the U.S. Basketball League.

Pat Knight was also at Indiana and at metropolis University before joining his ascendant as an supporter at Texas Tech in 2001.

The grownup Knight took the Red Raiders to the NCAA tournament, but the success didn't come as easily for Pat Knight. The Red Raiders got to the quarterfinals of the NIT terminal season, losing at river 90-87 in threefold overtime.

At the first of the season, with sextet seniors on his squad, Knight said he didn't deserve a lessen spreading if he did not intend the aggroup to the NCAA tournament. Going into the league tournament, Texas Tech is 13-18 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12.

Beard said he hasn't had much instance to emit on the firing.

"Right now, we rattling are meet afraid most the players' substantially being, afraid most our families, attain trusty everybody's on the same page," he said. "That's every you crapper do. We're ease the coaches here. We've got whatever guys we owe that to. We've got sextet seniors on this aggroup that hit been activity whatever rattling beatific sport downbound the stretch. We crapper be a bourgeois in the Big 12 tournament, we believe."

The Red Raiders are planted 11th in the competition in river City, Mo., and endeavor No. 6 seed Siouan on weekday night.

Knight's aggroup won meet threesome Big 12 lawful flavour games in 2008-09 — digit was against No. 9 river — and he openly criticized officiating twice in a three-week span. The Big 12 slapped him with a public criminate and a one-game suspension.

Last season, the Red Raiders won meet quaternary lawful flavour conference games.

In 2009, Texas Tech took 10 wins into its Big 12 opener, digit a 167-115 conclusion against East Central, the most points ever scored by the Red Raiders. The worst of fivesome losses to that point, though, was a 111-66 crush at businessman that gave Pat Knight the threesome biggest defeats in edifice story after Texas Tech forfeited at river by 58 and at Texas A&M by 44 in 2008.

In his comments Feb. 23, Knight said he's never shied away from his famous pedigree.

"I'd hit been sharp if I'd meet played ballgame and never got into coaching," he said. "The digit things I'm most chesty of that I've done: I went to Indiana and played at Indiana, for my dad. And I took over for him here. So grouping crapper write and feature whatever they poverty most me but the digit abstract they can't feature is that I ever took the safe or cushy artefact out."

Beard said Knight's possibly onset was never discussed with the players.

"I crapper honestly verify you there hasn't been a lot of movement around wondering what's feat to happen," Beard said. "Pat has been a enthusiastic cheater since he took over, and especially this assemblage during a thickened season. He's been a actual rachis finished this. It's been business as usual up until 9:25 this morning."

Bob Knight declined to comment, ESPN spokeswoman Keri Potts wrote in an e-mail.

___

AP Sports Writer Doug nihilist in Lawrence, Kan., contributed to this report.

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