Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders rise to No. 12 nationally
January 19, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – For a program record 20th straight release, Texas Tech is nationally ranked in the Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25. The Red Raiders rose three spots to No. 12 in this week's release after winning their last three games, including home wins over then-No. 11 BYU after a midweek win over Utah last week. Tech plays at Baylor at 8 p.m. on Tuesday before hosting No. 6 Houston at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena. Â
The Red Raiders (14-4, 4-1 Big 12) are coming off an 84-71 win over BYU on Saturday where they overcame a nine-point deficit to win by 13 points – moving to 10-0 at home. The Bears (11-6, 1-4 Big 12) played in a rare Friday night game and fell 80-62 at Kansas after a win at Oklahoma State last Tuesday for their only conference win through five games. Tech, which is 1-1 in conference road games, has won eight of its last 10 games coming into the matchup at Baylor and currently leads the Big 12 by making 11.1 3-pointers per game and is second by shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc after going 11-for-29 in the win over BYU.
Arizona (18-0) remains the top-ranked team in the nation and is followed by UConn (18-1), Michigan (16-1), Purdue (17-1) and Duke (17-1) in the top 5. The Cougars are 17-1 on the season and moved up one spot this week. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 9 Iowa State (16-2), No. 13 BYU (16-2) and No. 19 Kansas (13-5). Along with being at No. 12 in the AP Top 25, the Red Raiders are No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, No. 19 in the NCAA NET and No. 21 on Kenpom.
JT Toppin is on a streak of seven straight games with a double-double after leading the Red Raiders with 27 points and 13 rebounds in the win over BYU. He is currently leading the Big 12 with 12 double-doubles this season, 11.2 rebounds per game and 4.71 offensive rebounds per game. He is fourth in the conference in scoring with 21.6 points per game which ranks 13th nationally. Toppin leads the nation with 160 made field goals this season and went 3-for-4 on 3-pointers in both wins last week against Utah and BYU. Christian Anderson leads the Big 12 with 7.4 assists per game and is sixth in scoring with 19.8 points per game after going for 22 points and seven assists against BYU while LeJuan Watts comes into the matchup at Baylor with 996 career points after providing 20 points and eight rebounds against the Cougars. Tech is scoring 83.4 points per game as a team with four in double figures Toppin (21.6), Anderson (19.8), Watts (13.4) and Donovan Atwell (11.4) while freshman Jaylen Petty is scoring 9.2 per game. The Red Raiders set a new program record with 17 made 3-pointers this season in games against Oklahoma State and Lindenwood and have made 10 or more in 13-of-18 games this season.
Tech will return home after its game in Waco to host Houston at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the USA in a rematch of a January 6 game where the Cougars won 69-65 in Houston. During the win over BYU, it was announced that ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm will take place in Lubbock on Saturday before the game against Houston. The show is making its first on-campus production of the season and will air from 10-11 a.m. on the court at the USA. Fans are encouraged to attend with doors opening at 9 a.m. – an hour before the show which is hosted by Rece Davis who is joined by Jay Bilas, Andraya Carter, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams.
RED RAIDER RANKING STREAK
Texas Tech was unranked for the majority of the 2024-25 season but would rise to No. 8 in the final rankings after advancing to the Elite Eight. This year's team was ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking in program history. The program is now on its longest streak with 20 straight appearances in the AP Top 25.
Unranked - Jan. 20, 2025
No. 22 – Jan. 27, 2025
No. 13 – Feb. 3, 2025
No. 12 – Feb. 10, 2025
No. 9 – Feb. 17, 2025
No. 10 – Feb. 24, 2025
No. 9 – March 3, 2025
No. 9 – March 10, 2025
No. 9 – March 17, 2025
No. 8 – April 8, 2025 (FINAL)
No. 10 – Oct. 13, 2025 (PRESEASON)
No. 11 - Nov. 11, 2025
No. 15 - Nov. 17, 2025
No. 20 – Nov. 24, 2025
No. 19 - Dec. 1, 2025
No. 16 - Dec. 8, 2025
No. 19 - Dec. 15, 2025
No. 15 – Dec. 22, 2025
No. 14 – Jan. 5, 2026
No. 15 – Jan. 12, 2026
No. 12 – Jan. 19, 2026
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.
