ANAHEIM, Calif. — His father was sitting in the front row of the Honda Center on Saturday afternoon, which made it easy for Jarrett Culver to celebrate with him and other family members after the final buzzer confirmed the Red Raiders victory over top-seeded Gonzaga.

Texas Tech’s 75-69 triumph earned the Red Raiders their first trip to the Final Four, a milestone for the school and Culver’s home city of Lubbock, Texas.

“The city does so much for me and this is just a little piece I’m able to do for them,” he said. “But hopefully we’re not done yet.”

Culver, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, could be an NBA lottery pick in June after averaging nearly 19 points a game and leading the third-seeded Red Raiders to the West Region championship. Culver scored 19 points on 5-of-19 shooting against Gonzaga with 12 of his points coming in the second half.

Culver was also busy on the defensive end, taking turns trying to contain Gonzaga’s multiple offensive weapons.

“I was just trying to do whatever this team and my teammates need me to do,” Culver said. “If that means covering their five man or guarding their point guard I just want to fly around and do everything for the team.”

After the game ended, Culver hugged family members, including his father, Hiawatha Culver Jr., before rejoining his teammates to cut down the championship nets.

“They made me the person I am, so that moment was real,” Jarrett Culver said of his family moment. “It was something I’ve always dreamed of.”

His father would watch the celebration and noted the best thing that could have happened to the Red Raiders was losing in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game to West Virginia. It stopped a nine-game winning streak.

“The goal is to win every game,” the elder Culver said. “[The loss] might have woke them up. Whenever you’re on a long winning streak, you don’t try to lose, but sometimes it’s good to get that loss out of your system so you can go on a run.”

The Red Raiders have done that, running all the way to Minneapolis.

“Just realizing you’re going to the Final Four is indescribable,” Jarrett Culver said. “Not many people ever get the opportunity, so you enjoy it.”