Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders move up to No. 14 in AP Top 25
January 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech will travel to Houston as the No. 14-ranked team in the Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll this week – extending a program record to 18 straight appearances in the national poll. A nationally ranked matchup at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Fertitta Center comes against the No. 7-ranked Cougars who are on a seven-game winning streak. Tech and Houston both moved up one spot in the national rankings.
Along with the AP Top 25, Texas Tech (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) is currently ranked No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, No. 19 in the NCAA NET and No. 20 in the Kenpom ratings. The Red Raiders are on a season-best four-game winning streak after opening conference play with a 102-80 win over Oklahoma State and concluding non-conference play with wins over Northern Colorado, Duke and Winthrop. Tech finished non-conference play with a 10-3 record, including going 7-0 at home to extend the program's non-conference home winning streak to 46 games. The Red Raiders are now 8-0 at home this season and will play two games on the road this week, first at Houston and then at Colorado on Saturday night in Boulder.
No. 1 Arizona (14-0) remains the top-ranked team in the nation and is followed by No. 2 Michigan (13-0), No. 3 Iowa State (14-0), No. 4 UConn (14-1) and No. 5 Purdue (13-1) in the top 5. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 9 BYU (13-1), No. 22 Kansas (10-4) and No. 25 UCF (12-1). TCU received two votes this week. Texas Tech is currently 1-1 against AP Top 10 opponents this season after earning an 82-81 win over No. 3 Duke on December 20 at Madison Square Garden after falling to then-No. 1 Purdue at the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas back in November. The Red Raiders are 1-3 against AP Top 25 teams and 0-1 in true road games against ranked opponents this season.
Tech is coming off a game against OSU where it matched the program/season record by making 17 3-pointers and scored its second most points in a conference game. The 102 points scored were the most this season for the Red Raiders who had scored 101 in a non-conference win over Northern Colorado. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 by making 11.1 3-pointers per game and have made 10-or-more in 10 games this season. The team is currently shooting 155-for-407 (38.1%) on 3-pointers for the season which ranks fourth in the conference and 25th nationally. The Red Raiders were 17-for-37 (45.9%) from beyond the arc in the 22-point win over OSU and had six players make at least one 3-pointer. The 17 made 3-pointers matched the 17 makes in the season opener against Lindenwood which established a new program record.
JT Toppin and Christian Anderson are proving to be one of the most dynamic combinations in the nation and come into the game against Houston as the only teammates in the nation who are both averaging over 20 points per game. Toppin leads the Red Raiders and is fourth in the Big 12 with 21.2 points per game while Anderson is scoring 20.5 points per game which ranks sixth in the conference. Toppin secured his eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds against Oklahoma State while Anderson recorded his fourth career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 13 assists in the win. Anderson, who is a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week winner, leads the Big 12 with 7.5 assists per game after his fifth game this season with double-digit assists. Over the past five games, Anderson is averaging 23.0 points and 8.0 assists per game with three 20-plus scoring performances.
The high-scoring win over OSU came with all five starters scoring in double figures, including LeJuan Watts going for 19 points and nine rebounds to just miss his second double-double of the season while Donovan Atwell made five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and Jaylen Petty scored 12 points with a career-best four 3-pointers made. Watts is now averaging 14.1 points per game and Atwell is at 11.3 to give the Red Raiders four player averaging in double figures through 14 games played this season. Over the past five games, the Red Raiders are shooting 59-for-144 (41.0%) as a team on 3-pointers and are scoring 91.6 points per game.
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 18 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
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