AUSTIN, Texas -- A gutsy move Monday by Bob Knight and Texas Tech might not have helped from a talent standpoint, but it could make the team more cohesive.

Faced with a must-win stretch of games, Knight and the team benched top scorer Andre Emmett and key reserve Nick Valdez before tipoff of their 77-65 loss to Texas.

Knight was peeved with Emmett's play against Oklahoma over the weekend. The stats might not show it as he scored 13 points in 40 minutes in the loss. That effort came after a 25-point, 11-for-12 shooting game in 40 minutes of a win at Iowa State.

But the problems were on the defensive side for Emmett, the junior guard whom Knight reportedly had said in the preseason could end up being one of the best college players he has coached.

So, Knight was going to sit Emmett for the start of the game. He didn't plan on using reserve Valdez, either. But then the two road roommates did the unthinkable -- they overslept the team breakfast and were no-shows at the 11 a.m. (Central Time) shootaround Monday.

When the two weren't at the Erwin Center, the team held a meeting in the locker room and decided that they shouldn't play against the Longhorns.

They didn't.

But that hardly dismayed the Red Raiders. Knight took things one step further by starting a startling lineup of seldom-used freshmen John Ofoegbu and Josh Washington, reserves Mikey Marshall and Nathan Doudney and starter Kasib Powell.

The makeshift lineup outplayed the vaunted Longhorns for the first few minutes and it was 9-9 before Knight went back to a few of his original starters by bringing in Will Chavis, Ronald Ross and Robert Tomaszek.

The eight players that Knight used (he benched erratic Pawel Storozynski, too) hung with Texas on most possessions. And, they might have left Austin as a more complete team even if their record doesn't show that at season's end.

"If we would have started the season in October with the eight players we had out there today we'd be a better team today,'' Knight said. "The thing that happened today with Emmett and Valdez wasn't the reason they didn't start. I know (Emmett) wouldn't have started today, based on the performance of last Saturday.''

When asked if Emmett's defense had been a problem, Knight said, "for two years.''

The three players who were benched -- two suspended and one drawing a DNP -- didn't mope on the sideline. They were cheering and standing up throughout the game, in uniform.

"That was important,'' Powell said. "We've still got a good shot. It's definitely not over for us.''

The Red Raiders are squarely on the post-season bubble and are slipping off with a 4-7 Big 12 record, 14-8 overall. Texas Tech still has to go to Oklahoma State and Baylor and plays host to Texas, Kansas and Texas A&M.

"We didn't expect to be 4-7 right now but we're in a good conference with a lot of good teams,'' Chavis said. "If we play together and listen to what coach wants us to do then we'll be fine.''

"And as long as we don't get into foul trouble,'' Powell said of the depleted lineup.

Knight said he enjoyed watching this team and thought the effort was better than it had been.

"Nobody was standing around and defensively we didn't have to make up for someone,'' Knight said. "If we keep going on that way then we'll be OK.''

Knight said he wasn't sure if Emmett or Valdez would play again this season. He stopped answering any more questions on the matter after he was pressed.

If the Red Raiders are .500 in the Big 12 then they've got a decent shot for a bid. If they're under .500 then it could be a reach. The selection committee would rather shy away from sub-.500 teams in a conference but the Big 12 might be the one conference where that exception could work. And, there could be a scenario where the committee runs out of quality teams to put into the field and needs someone from a major conference.

But clearly the Red Raiders put themselves in this position after the loss at Oklahoma on Jan. 20. The overtime defeat was marred by a clock error, blamed on a clock operator. Since then, the Red Raiders have lost six of nine games.

"It's a game I'll consider that we won because of what happened,'' the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal quoted Knight saying last week. "It's a shame there's not enough integrity in college athletics, that prevents these kids from having won.''

Texas Tech was clearly still incensed by the matter -- the game result had an asterisk by it in their game notes, with a footnote that said, "game clock activity investigated by Big 12.'' That's true, but it's also over as the Big 12 said it was human error and that the result wouldn't be reversed. A Texas Tech official said Monday that he would take the asterisk off the notes for Saturday's game against Texas A&M.

A member of the selection committee told ESPN.com that bad or questionable calls don't come into play when evaluating a team. The Oklahoma loss would go down as a loss -- without an asterisk -- for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders can't correct that defeat but they may have solved some chemistry issues with the lineup shakeup Monday.

We'll see if that translates into a few more wins in the final five regular season games to get the Red Raiders into the NCAAs for the second straight season.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.