Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders rise to No. 13 in AP Top 25
February 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball
TEMPE, Arizona – Texas Tech is at No. 13 in this week's Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 to extend their program record to 24 straight appearances in the AP Top 25. Along with the AP Top 25, the Red Raiders (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) come in at No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and are No. 16 in the NCAA NET and Kenpom ratings after knocking off then-No. 1 Arizona with a 78-75 overtime win last Saturday in Tucson.
Tech returns to action this week with a road game against Arizona State at 10 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday in Tempe before hosting Kansas State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Cincinnati on Tuesday, February 24 at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders are 4-2 on the road in conference play and will bring a 12-1 record at home into their matchup against K-State this weekend. Tech was at No. 10 in the 2025-26 AP Top 25 Preseason Poll after finishing last season at No. 8 following the program's third trip to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Michigan (24-1) took over at No. 1 in the nation this week and is followed by No. 2 Houston (23-2), No. 3 Duke (23-2), No. 4 Arizona (23-2) and No. 5 UConn (24-2) in the top 5 of the rankings. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 6 Iowa State (22-3), No. 8 Kansas (19-6) and No. 23 BYU (19-6). The Red Raiders will play at No. 6 Iowa State on Saturday, February 28 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa and finish the regular season at No. 23 BYU on March 7 in Provo, Utah.
A win over Arizona State would give the Red Raiders their 19th season with 20-plus wins through 101 season in program history and head coach Grant McCasland three straight to begin his Tech career and the 12th throughout his career as a NCAA head coach. Tech now has top 10 wins over No. 3 Duke, No. 6 Houston and No. 1 Arizona this season and is currently 4-5 against AP Top 25 opponents.
Tech comes into the matchup at Arizona State leading the Big 12 with 11.5 made 3-pointers per game and is second by shooting 38.9% from deep along with being third with only 10.5 turnovers per game and a 55.6 effective field goal percentage. Tech ranks fifth in the conference with a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio, 37.7 rebounds per game and an average of 16.1 assists per game after having 12 assists on 27 makes at Arizona. The team averages 82.0 points per game and has limited opponents to 72.4 points throughout the season. The Red Raiders were 11-of-33 on 3s in the win over Arizona and have now made 10 or more in 20-of-25 games this season, including setting a new program record with 17 in games against Baylor, Oklahoma State and Lindenwood. The Red Raiders established new program records on 3-pointers the past two seasons under McCasland by making 371 last season (37 games) and 289 the year before (34 games). As a team, Tech is 287-for-738 (38.9%) on 3-pointers through 25 games this season which is already the third most made in a season in program history.
JT Toppin recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 31 points and 13 rebounds (7 offensive) in the win over Arizona while Christian Anderson made six 3-pointers and finished the game with 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Toppin became only the second player in history to record a 30-point double-double in a road win over a No. 1-ranked opponent – joining North Carolina's Luke Maye who had 30 points, 15 rebounds in a win at Duke in 2019 – while also being on the second Big 12 player in the conference's history to do it in any game against a No. 1 with West Virginia's Devin Williams posting the first in 2016. Toppin comes into the matchup against the Sun Devils leading the nation with 226 made field goals and leads the Big 12 with 16 double-doubles, 11.0 rebounds and 4.3 offensive rebounds per game. He ranks third in the Big 12 and ninth nationally with 21.9 points per game. Anderson leads the Big 12 and is third nationally with 7.7 assists per game while also being sixth in the conference with 19.1 points per game. Donovan Atwell, who now has 301 made 3-pointers in his career, hit three against Arizona and is now second in the Big 12 with 90 made 3s this season, by shooting 44.6% from beyond the arc and by making 3.6 3s per game. He ranks in the top 5 nationally in each category. Anderson's six 3s at Arizona has him third in the Big 12 with 84 made 3s this season, a 43.5% and with 3.5 makes per game. The Red Raiders are also getting 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game from LeJuan Watts and 9.1 points per game from Jaylen Petty who has made 46 3-pointers in his freshman season. Atwell is currently fourth in program history with his 90 made 3s this season and is approaching the single-season record of 94 by Cory Carr in the 1996-97 season. Anderson's 185 assists ranks fourth in a season for Tech with Elijiah Hawkins owning the single-season program record with 276 last season in 35 games.
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 23 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
No. 11 – Jan. 26, 2026
No. 13 – Feb. 2, 2026
No. 16 – Feb. 9, 2026
No. 13 - Feb. 16, 2026
VIDEO RESOURCES: Define Yourself | TTW EP1 | TTW EP2 | TTW EP3 | TTW EP4 | CBS Home Court
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