Lubbock, Texas ? Bob Knight will have to wait until next year to become the all-time winningest coach in men’s college basketball history.

Knight’s anticipated coronation did not come to fruition as UNLV defeated Texas Tech, 74-66, on Thursday night at United Spirit Arena in Knight’s first attempt at winning his 880th career game and passing Dean Smith for the record.

“I’m not ever interested (in the record),” Knight said. “I haven’t been interested in that from Day One, and I’m not interested in it now. All I’m interested in is our team playing well. And we did not play well.”

Knight’s next chance will come Monday, when the Red Raiders (10-4) play host New Mexico at 11 a.m. The Hall of Fame coach remains tied with Smith at 879 career victories.

Knight, in his 41st season as a coach, had a full house of 15,098 fans on hand, and the arena was sold out for only the second time for a nonconference game and the first time since it opened in 1999.

A number of Knight’s friends and former players showed up to see him try to make history. Among those on hand were NBA Hall of Famer John Havlicek, a former teammate at Ohio State; former player at Indiana and current Iowa coach Steve Alford; and former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, who rarely travels with the Runnin’ Rebels.

“I’ve known him 48 years,” Havlicek said. “Each time we’ve had a milestone in either career, we’ve been there for each other.”

They left without seeing the desired results.

Texas Tech students, from left, Matt Ratliff, Kenton Dubose and Kyle Monk cheer head coach Bob Knight before Tech's game with UNLV. UNLV won Thursday in Lubbock, Texas, denying Knight his record 880th career victory.

“I was really tickled (that they showed up),” Knight said. “I told them they might have to stay here three weeks. It would be a boom to the economy if we keep playing like we did in the first half.”

Alford’s Iowa team plays Saturday, but is off New Year’s Day. He said he would try to return to Lubbock on Monday, but he didn’t know if he would be able to make the trip.

“He means an awful lot to me,” Alford said. “He’s done an awful lot in my life and hopefully (I can) be part of something that’s very, very special.”

The Red Raiders didn’t show the crowd much offense early as it took them 4:49 to score their first basket, which wasn’t the only long scoring drought for the Red Raiders.

The Runnin’ Rebels (12-2) took advantage, especially from beyond the 3-point line, where they hit 11-of-25 shots. Texas Tech connected on only 1-of-12 3-pointers.

“Coach Knight is special, obviously, what he has done throughout his career and will continue to do,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “He’s very meaningful to a lot of people. Yet I’m not displeased that we delayed the celebration by at least a game or two.”

Texas Tech trailed 32-23 at halftime and by double digits for the majority of the second half.

After Texas Tech cut its deficit to 11 points, Knight picked up his first technical of the season with 3:54 to play.

Texas Tech pulled within six points three times in the final two minutes, but UNLV’s Kevin Kruger prevented the Red Raiders from getting any closer as he hit all six of his free throws down the stretch.

“We came back with the old story-too little, too late,” Knight said.