Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Return to National Top-10
February 08, 2021 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech has jumped six spots and returned to the top-10 following a three-game winning streak that has the Red Raiders at No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 8 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
TTU (14-5, 6-4 Big 12) has run off wins over LSU, then-No. 9 Oklahoma and made it three straight with a 73-62 road win at Kansas State last Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas. The wins pushed the Red Raiders up from No. 13 in last week's AP rankings. The team is currently at No. 12 in the NCAA NET Rankings coming into its game against No. 14 West Virginia which is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders are back in the top-10 for the second time this season after being at No. 10 two weeks ago. The program's highest ranking was at No. 6 in Week 16 of the 2017-18 season. Prior to Chris Beard, Tech had only been a top-10 team in the 1995-96 season where they were as high as No. 7. The Red Raiders were No. 7 in the final AP Top 25 Poll of the 2018-19 season where they advanced to the Final Four. Texas Tech is currently 3-4 against teams in the AP Top 25 with two wins over then No. 9 Oklahoma and a win at Texas when the Longhorns were at No. 4 in the rankings. Â
Gonzaga (18-0) remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor (17-0), Michigan (13-1), Ohio State (15-4) and Villanova (12-2). The Big 12 is also represented this week by No. 12 Oklahoma (12-5), No. 13 Texas (11-5), No. 14 WVU (13-5) and No. 23 Oklahoma State (12-5) which enters the AP rankings for the first time this season after a win over Kansas on Saturday. The Jayhawks dropped out of the rankings with the loss.
Mac McClung leads the Big 12 at 19.7 points per conference game this season after scoring 23 at Kansas State last Saturday to give him a conference-leading nine games with 20 or more points, while Kevin McCullar is third in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game. McClung scored a season-high 30 points in the first matchup against West Virginia and is second in the conference at 17.2 points per game for the season. He is currently 17th nationally and the Big 12 leader with 87 made free throws and is second with 103 made baskets. Terrence Shannon, Jr. comes into the Tuesday night matchup against WVU averaging 13.0 points per game, while Marcus Santos-Silva is seventh in the conference with 6.5 rebounds per game and third with 3.0 offensive rebounds per game. The Red Raiders are fifth nationally with a plus-6.1 turnover margin advantage after having only 10 and forcing 18 at KSU, while the team is also 14th in the country by holding teams to just 61.7 points per game with 12 of 19 opponents being held under 65 points. Along with securing possession, Tech's defense is 15th nationally by forcing 17.0 turnovers per game.
The Red Raiders come into the matchup against WVU having made the third most free throws in the nation and are shooting 72.5 percent from the line. Tech went 15-for-22 at the line in the win over the weekend at KSU and is now 333 of 459 from the line this season. The team has made 15 or more free throws in 13 games this season, highlighted by going 30-for-36 in the first win over KSU.
Â
TTU (14-5, 6-4 Big 12) has run off wins over LSU, then-No. 9 Oklahoma and made it three straight with a 73-62 road win at Kansas State last Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas. The wins pushed the Red Raiders up from No. 13 in last week's AP rankings. The team is currently at No. 12 in the NCAA NET Rankings coming into its game against No. 14 West Virginia which is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders are back in the top-10 for the second time this season after being at No. 10 two weeks ago. The program's highest ranking was at No. 6 in Week 16 of the 2017-18 season. Prior to Chris Beard, Tech had only been a top-10 team in the 1995-96 season where they were as high as No. 7. The Red Raiders were No. 7 in the final AP Top 25 Poll of the 2018-19 season where they advanced to the Final Four. Texas Tech is currently 3-4 against teams in the AP Top 25 with two wins over then No. 9 Oklahoma and a win at Texas when the Longhorns were at No. 4 in the rankings. Â
Gonzaga (18-0) remains the top-ranked team in the nation followed by Baylor (17-0), Michigan (13-1), Ohio State (15-4) and Villanova (12-2). The Big 12 is also represented this week by No. 12 Oklahoma (12-5), No. 13 Texas (11-5), No. 14 WVU (13-5) and No. 23 Oklahoma State (12-5) which enters the AP rankings for the first time this season after a win over Kansas on Saturday. The Jayhawks dropped out of the rankings with the loss.
Mac McClung leads the Big 12 at 19.7 points per conference game this season after scoring 23 at Kansas State last Saturday to give him a conference-leading nine games with 20 or more points, while Kevin McCullar is third in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game. McClung scored a season-high 30 points in the first matchup against West Virginia and is second in the conference at 17.2 points per game for the season. He is currently 17th nationally and the Big 12 leader with 87 made free throws and is second with 103 made baskets. Terrence Shannon, Jr. comes into the Tuesday night matchup against WVU averaging 13.0 points per game, while Marcus Santos-Silva is seventh in the conference with 6.5 rebounds per game and third with 3.0 offensive rebounds per game. The Red Raiders are fifth nationally with a plus-6.1 turnover margin advantage after having only 10 and forcing 18 at KSU, while the team is also 14th in the country by holding teams to just 61.7 points per game with 12 of 19 opponents being held under 65 points. Along with securing possession, Tech's defense is 15th nationally by forcing 17.0 turnovers per game.
The Red Raiders come into the matchup against WVU having made the third most free throws in the nation and are shooting 72.5 percent from the line. Tech went 15-for-22 at the line in the win over the weekend at KSU and is now 333 of 459 from the line this season. The team has made 15 or more free throws in 13 games this season, highlighted by going 30-for-36 in the first win over KSU.
Â
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballPostgame Press Conference: vs. Alabama (NCAA Tournament Second Round)
Monday, March 23
Press Conference: NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview
Saturday, March 21
Postgame Press Conference: vs. Akron (NCAA Tournament First Round)
Friday, March 20
A Round One Celebration
Friday, March 20