Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders remain in AP Top 10
February 24, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – It'll be a matchup between No. 10 Texas Tech and No. 4 Houston at 8 p.m. tonight at United Supermarkets Arena. The updated Associated Press Top 25 dropped at noon on Monday and has the Red Raiders in the rankings for the fifth straight week after going the majority of the season as an unranked team. Along with the AP Top 25 ranking, Tech remains at No. 10 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and is at No. 7 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom rating.
The Red Raiders (21-6, 12-4 Big 12) are currently tied for second in the Big 12 standings and dropped back one spot in the AP Top 25 this week. The team leads the conference with a 1.58 assist-to-turnover ratio and is second by scoring 81.4 points per game, shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 38.4 percent on 3-pointers. Tech limited West Virginia to only 51 points in its win on Saturday and is now fourth in the Big 12 by limiting opponents to 66.5 points per game. The Red Raiders have won seven conference games by double-figure scoring margins and have limited seven conference opponents to under 60 points this season.
Texas Tech, which is 14-2 on its home court, extended a program streak of 11 straight years with a win over an AP Top 10 opponent with an 82-81 overtime win over the Cougars on February 1 at the Fertitta Center in the first matchup between the teams. Houston (23-4) has won 19 of its last 20 games with that overtime defeat against the Red Raiders breaking up a 13-game winning streak. The Cougars moved up one spot to No. 4 in this week's rankings. Auburn (25-2) remains the top-ranked team in the nation and is followed by Duke (24-3), Florida (24-3), UH and Tennessee (22-5) in the AP Top 25. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 9 Iowa State (21-6), No. 22 Arizona (18-9) and No. 25 BYU (19-8) in this week's rankings. The Red Raiders travel to play on Saturday against a Kansas team that fell out of the AP Top 25 in Monday's release. Â
JT Toppin is currently third in the Big 12 in scoring at 17.3 points per game and also in rebounding at 9.1 per. He's second in the conference by shooting 57.1 percent from the field and is averaging 26.0 points and 11.8 rebounds over the last five games. Chance McMillian is adding 15.1 points per game and leads the Big 12 by shooting 45.4 percent from 3-point range and Elijah Hawkins leads the conference with 6.5 assists per game. Darrion Williams is scoring 14.9 points per game along with averaging 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Christian Anderson had a career-high 21 points with five 3-pointers in the win over WVU on Saturday and is now at 10.0 points and 2.2 assists per game. This is the first time in his freshman season where he's averaging in double figures and he comes into the matchup against Houston shooting 50-for-120 (41.7 percent) on 3-pointers.
The Red Raiders entered the rankings at No. 22 on January 27, rose to No. 13 the next week, moved up to No. 12 last week and are now a top 10 team for the first time since they were also ranked No. 9 during the 2022 season.
RANKINGS
• Texas Tech has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for a program record eight straight seasons
• Last week, Tech entered the AP Top 10 at No. 9 and was at No. 10 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll (Feb. 17)
• The Red Raiders were at No. 12 (Feb. 10) in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches poll along with being at No. 9 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom
• 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 three weeks ago 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 was as high as No. 9 in 2022
• 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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