TUCSON, ARIZ. ? Ronald Ross lit up the first round of the NCAA Tournament the same way he did the Big 12 Conference tourney last week.

Ross scored 28 points — after getting 28 and 22 in the last two games of the Big 12 — to lead Texas Tech to a 78-66 first-round victory over 11th-seeded UCLA on Thursday night. Not that 78 points in three games for the senior guard should be a surprise. Just ask his coach.

“Ronald Ross has been a good player for us for four years,” Bob Knight said. “It isn’t like all of a sudden he just hatched, and we put him in the lineup. He hasn’t broken out of an egg here recently. He has played very well, and he’s gotten better and better each year.”

Ross’ backcourt mate, Jarrius Jackson, scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half.

“Our guards have been the hub of our offense all year long,” Knight said. “If they don’t score, we’re not going to have a real good offensive effort.

The Red Raiders shot a season-best 62 percent (32-for-52).

“Everybody was feeling good and just knocking down shots,” Jackson said.

Texas Tech (21-10) improved to 2-2 in NCAA Tournament games since Knight came four seasons ago to Lubbock. Knight, meanwhile, is 44-23 in 27 NCAA appearances, but it was only his fourth victory in 12 tournament games since 1995.

The sixth-seeded Red Raiders will play No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the second round of the Albuquerque Regional on Saturday.

UCLA (17-12), with its lowest seed ever on the 10th anniversary of its last national championship, never led. Dijon Thompson scored 22 for UCLA.