Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech ranked No. 16 nationally going into postseason
March 09, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech enters the postseason at No. 16 in this week's Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 to extend its program record to 27 straight appearances in the AP Top 25. Along with the AP Top 25, the Red Raiders come in at No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the NCAA NET and No. 17 in the Kenpom ratings. The NCAA Selection Committee slotted the Red Raiders as a four seed (13th overall) on Saturday, Feb. 21 in its preliminary top 16 for the season. Selection Sunday is set for March 15 with the full 68-team bracket to be revealed at 5 p.m. on CBS.Â
Nationally ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history, the Red Raiders (22-9, 12-6 Big 12) tied for third in the Big 12 standings and are the fourth seed in this week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament where they will open at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup against either Iowa State, Arizona State or Baylor at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Tech has advanced to the semifinals of the tournament in Grant McCasland's first two seasons and will be making the program's 29th trip to the Big 12 Tournament.
Duke (29-2) remains the top-ranked team in the nation for the third straight week and is followed by No. 2 Arizona (29-2), No. 3 Michigan (29-2), No. 4 Florida (26-5) and No. 5 Houston (26-5) in this week's AP Top 25. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 7 Iowa State (25-6) and No. 14 Kansas (22-9) to give the conference five ranked teams going into the postseason. Arizona won the Big 12 regular-season championship and is the tournament's top seed.
Tech has 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 are now 4-2 against top 10 opponents and 3-1 against top 5 opponents, including winning three straight. Tech has 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.
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 27 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
VIDEO RESOURCES: Define Yourself | TTW EP1 | TTW EP2 | TTW EP3 | TTW EP4 | CBS Home Court
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