Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders head to postseason ranked No. 9
March 10, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech will go into the postseason ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Along with being in the national polls for the seventh week in a row and in the Top 10 for the fourth straight, the team is at No. 7 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom.
The Red Raiders (24-7, 15-5 Big 12) finished second in the Big 12 standings and will open the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at 6 p.m. on Thursday with a quarterfinal matchup against either Arizona State, Kansas State or Baylor. Tech earned a double-bye to automatically advance to the third day of the five-day tournament. The Big 12 Championship Final is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2017-18 team was also ranked in the Top 10 for four straight weeks, reaching the highest ranking in program history at No. 6 in Week 16 after re-entering at No. 10 in Week 13.
Duke (28-3) moved up to No. 1 in the national rankings and is followed by Houston (27-4), Auburn (27-4), Florida (27-4) and Alabama (24-7) in the AP Top 5. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 12 Iowa State (23-8) and No. 17 BYU (23-8). Arizona and Kansas received votes.
Tech completed the regular season leading the Big 12 with a 1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio and is second in the conference by shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range, with 10.1 3-pointers per game and with a 14.3 scoring margin of victory. The team is third in the conference stat rankings by scoring 81.1 points per game, shooting 47.4 percent overall from the field and with a 77.4 free-throw percentage. Tech's defense has limited 10 opponents under 60 points this season and is fourth in the conference by holding teams to 66.8 points per game. JT Toppin leads the Red Raiders with 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds this season after going for his 14th double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds at Arizona State. Tech has four players averaging in double-figure scoring through the regular season with Chance McMillian (14.7), Darrion Williams (14.3) and Christian Anderson (10.7).
The Red Raiders entered the rankings at No. 22 on January 27, rose to No. 13 the next week, moved up to No. 12 and are now a top 10 team for the fourth straight week. Tech was also ranked No. 9 during the 2022 season and was in the AP Top 10 for four straight weeks during the 2017-18 season.
RANKINGS
• Texas Tech has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for a program record eight straight seasons
• Tech has now been ranked seven straight weeks
• Last week, Texas Tech was at No. 9 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Polls (March 3)
• Tech entered the AP Top 10 two weeks ago 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 on January 27 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
•  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
Follow the Red Raiders: Keep up with Texas Tech men's basketball news at TexasTech.com and at the team's social media on Instagram, X and Facebook.
