Texas Tech basketball up to No. 11 in the national polls
The Texas Tech basketball team checks in at No. 11 in the polls this week as it continues its undefeated start to the season.
As one of only nine teams still unbeaten, the Texas Tech basketball team continues to climb in the national polls. Monday, the Red Raiders checked in at No. 11 in both the Associated Press and the Coach’s poll.
Kansas took over the top spot from Gonzaga which lost to Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. The Volunteers moved up from No. 7 to No. 3 in the A.P. poll thanks to the upset.
The only other Big 12 team in the rankings is Kansas State which is in a three-way tie for 25th in the A.P. poll and is No. 24 in the Coach’s poll. Oklahoma, TCU and Texas all received votes but were not ranked this week.
At this point last year, Texas Tech was at No. 24 in the rankings after an 82-76 OT win over No. 22 Nevada in Lubbock. Tech would spend the rest of the season in the top 25 climbing at high as No. 7 in the regular season before finishing the season at No. 6.
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This week, Texas Tech has two home games including tomorrow night’s contest against Northwestern State and Saturday’s throwback game in the Coliseum against Abilene Christian. Should the Red Raiders take care of business, they could very well enter next week’s showdown with No. 2 Duke as a top-10 team.
The game, which is being played at Madison Square Garden in New York City, is already a sell-out and could be one of the top non-conference games of the college basketball season. It will be an opportunity for he Red Raiders, which were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll, to measure themselves against one of the favorites to win the national title.
Tech is once again riding a dominant defense as it climbs the polls. The Red Raiders are second in the nation in opponent scoring allowing just 52.5 points per game, over 12 points fewer than the 2017-18 team allowed.
As a result of their suffocating defense, Tech is 4th in the nation in scoring margin. Outscoring its opponents by an average of 24.2 points per game, Tech has beaten all eight of its foes by double-digits.
What’s more, the Red Raiders lead the nation in shooting defense. Opposing teams are hitting just 33.7% of field gaol attempts. Additionally, Tech is allowing just 25.6% from three-point range.
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It is a testament to the culture that head coach Chris Beard has built in his three seasons in Lubbock. Despite losing six of its top eight scorers from last season’s Elite 8 team, the Red Raiders are once again among the game’s best and it appears that the nation is starting to take notice.