Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders move up to No. 12 in national polls
February 10, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Polls which were announced on Monday. Along with national polls, Tech is now at No. 9 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom after winning eight of its last 10 games.
The Red Raiders (18-5, 9-3 Big 12) moved up one spot in this week's AP Top 25 and are currently third in the conference standings behind only Houston and Arizona who both have 11-1 records in Big 12 play. Texas Tech hosts Arizona State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena before playing at Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater.
Auburn (21-2) remains the top-ranked team in the nation and is followed by Alabama (20-3), Florida (20-3), Duke (20-3) and Tennessee (20-4) in the top 5. No. 6 Houston (19-4) is the top-ranked Big 12 team and is followed by No. 10 Iowa State, the Red Raiders, No. 13 Arizona (17-6) and No. 17 Kansas (16-7) to give the conference five ranked teams this week. Texas Tech is coming off a week where it knocked off Baylor to improve to 12-2 on its home court this season before falling at Arizona on Saturday night to have a seven-game winning streak snapped. The Red Raiders are currently 1-3 against ranked opponents this season
Statistically, Texas Tech is second in the Big 12 by shooting 38.0 percent on 3-pointers and with 9.6 3-pointers per game after making 12 at Arizona which was the 14th time this season with 10 or more. The Red Raiders are also second with a 55.7 effective field goal percentage, third by scoring 80.7 points per game and also rank third at the free-throw line at 76.5 percent after going 17-for-20 in their past two games (9-for-10 at Arizona). The team is second in the conference and 23rd in the nation with a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth in the Big 12 by shooting 47.7 percent from the field and by limiting opponents to 65.9 points per game. Tech has held seven opponents under 60 points this season, including five in Big 12 games.
Chance McMillian and JT Toppin are both averaging 15.2 points per game to lead the team while Darrion Williams is scoring 14.8 points per game to give the Red Raider three players averaging in double figures coming into the week. Elijah Hawkins leads the Big 12 with 6.3 assists per game after a season-high 12 at Arizona and is on a four-game streak of double-figure scoring to take his season average up to 9.6 points per game. Hawkins has 133 assists and only 42 turnovers this season after recording his fourth double-double of the season in a game at Arizona where he had 12 assists, 10 points and only one turnover. Toppin notched his team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds at Arizona and is now third in the conference in rebounding and tied with McMillian for seventh in scoring.
RANKINGS
• Texas Tech has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for a program record eight straight seasons
• Tech was at No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Monday, February 3 for its highest ranking under McCasland
• Tech entered the AP Top 25 two weeks agon at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and was at No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll… The team was also at No. 11 in Kenpom.com and in the NCAA NET rankings on Monday, January 27
•  Tech moved from unranked to No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll (Nov. 18)... A loss to Saint Joseph's bumped Tech from the USA TODAY Coaches Poll… The Red Raiders started the 2024-25 season unranked in the preseason polls after being at No. 22 in both national polls going into the NCAA Tournament last season… The Red Raiders were at No. 25 in the final 2023-24 USA TODAY Coaches Poll and received votes in the final AP Poll
• Texas Tech was picked 7th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll and did not have a player selected in the 2024 preseason awards
• Last season, Tech was at No. 15 (Jan. 29) for its highest ranking of the season; Tech came into the 2023-24 season unranked in the AP Preseason Poll and remained unranked in the Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, and Jan. 8 polls; The team received votes for the first time last season with 62 in the January 8 poll after the win over the Longhorns in Austin to begin conference play
• The No. 15 national ranking was the highest since the program was No. 12 in the AP Top 25 at the end of the 2022 season
• Tech's highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)… The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final
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