Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders ranked No. 20 in AP Top 25
March 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech enters the NCAA Tournament at No. 20 in this week's Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 to extend its program record to 28 straight appearances in the AP Top 25. Along with the AP Top 25, the Red Raiders come in at No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the NCAA NET and No. 20 in the Kenpom ratings. The NCAA Selection Committee slotted the Red Raiders as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region where they will open against No. 12 Akron at 11:40 a.m. (CST) on Friday at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The Red Raiders (22-10) are making their third straight NCAA Tournament and 22nd appearance in program history, including advancing to the program's third Elite Eight last season. As a program, Tech has made the tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026 over the past 10 years with 14-7 record during that span. Grant McCasland has led the program to the tournament in each of his first three seasons, including last season when the team ran off wins over UNC Wilmington, Drake and Arkansas before falling to Florida (2025 National Champion) in the Elite Eight. Last season, Tech matched a program record with a No. 3 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament has experienced recent success by advancing to the Elite Eight (2018), NCAA Final (2019), Sweet 16 (2022) and Elite Eight (2025).Â
The final AP Top 25 poll before the start of the NCAA Tournament is topped by No. 1 Duke (32-2), No. 2 Arizona (32-2), No. 3 Michigan (31-3), No. 4 Florida (26-7) and No. 5 Houston (28-6). The Big 12 is also represented by No. 6 Iowa State (27-7) and No. 17 Kansas (23-10). Akron (29-5) received three votes in this week's poll.
Nationally ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history, Tech set a program record with its four wins over a top 10 opponent and three top 5 victories – passing the previous mark from 2006-07 of three top 10 wins. The Red Raiders have a neutral-court win over then-No. 3 Duke at Madison Square Garden, a home win over then-No. 6 Houston and road victories over then-No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 4 Iowa State. As a program, Tech now has 28 wins over top 10 opponents in the regular season. The team started the season 0-2 against top 10 teams with a loss against then-No. 1 Purdue in the Bahamas and taking a loss at then-No. 7 Houston in the first matchup against the Cougars.
Christian Anderson and JT Toppin were both selected to the All-Big 12 First Team while Donovan Atwell earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team honors. Toppin and Anderson are the only teammates in the nation to both be on the Wooden Award Ballot and were both selected as The Sporting News All-America. Additional All-America selections will come from the Associated Press, NABC and USBWA next week. The Red Raiders have played the last six games without Toppin who suffered a season-ending injury on February 17 at Arizona State. At the time of his injury, Toppin was leading the nation with 234 made field goals and was in the top 10 nationally in scoring (21.8), rebounding (10.8) and double-doubles (16). Anderson leads the Big 12 and is third nationally with 7.6 assists per game and is averaging 18.9 points per game. A sophomore point guard, Anderson has recorded eight double-doubles this season and has already established a new program single-season record with 236 assists this season while also making 105 3-pointers - breaking the previous school single-season record. Atwell now owns that 3-point record and goes into the NCAA Tournament having made 124 3-pointers and by shooting 45.4% from beyond the arc. Atwell is second on the team with 13.5 points per game while LeJuan Watts is adding 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and freshman Jaylen Petty is providing 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Atwell and Anderson have combined for 229 made 3-pointers this season – the most for a pair of teammates in the nation.
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 28 straight appearances in the AP Top 25. The streak:
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
No. 16 – Feb. 23, 2026
No. 10 – March 2, 2026
No. 16 – March 9, 2026
No. 20 – March 16, 2026
VIDEO RESOURCES: Define Yourself | TTW EP1 | TTW EP2 | TTW EP3 | TTW EP4 | CBS Home Court
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