Texas Tech basketball drops in latest bracketology; power rankings

In the latest round of bracketology predictions and power rankings, the Texas Tech basketball team has seen its stock slide thanks to its current 3-game losing streak.

At some point, we knew that the Texas Tech basketball team would face some adversity. But that does not make the current 3-game slide any easier to watch.

And as a result of the team’s recent downturn in the past week, the Red Raiders have been dropped in the latest round of national bracketology predictions and power rankings. But in some cases, the fall might not be as severe as one might expect.

The last time we looked at the bracketology predictions, Tech was virtually a consensus No. 2 seed. That would have been even higher than last year’s team was seeded.

Now, Tech’s predicted seeding has dropped anywhere from just one spot to four spots depending on where we look. Joe Lunardi of ESPN and one of the bracketology pioneers has Tech Down to a No. 3 seed taking on Texas State in Tulsa.

Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation also has Tech as a No. 3 seed but does not have his teams put in a bracket. As a No. 3, the Red Raiders would face a No. 14 seed, and the four teams he has in that range are North Texas, UC Santa Barbara, South Dakota Sate and Georgia State.

Jerry Palm of CBSSports also has Tech and Texas State squaring off but as a No. 4 vs. a No. 13 matchup in Salt Lake City. In his bracket, Tech could see Duke in the Sweet 16 in a rematch of the December 20th game in Madison Square Garden.

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What is important to note is that the above brackets were updated before Tech’s loss to Kansas State on Tuesday. But Bracketville has since released their update and has Tech as a No. 5 seed. In their bracket, the Red Raiders would take on Lipscomb in Des Moines, Iowa. The problem in this scenario would come in the second round when Tech would face a virtual road game against Iowa in a reversal of the fortune we received last year in being sent to Dallas for the first two rounds.

Another bracketology update to include Tech’s most recent loss comes from TeamRankings.com which places the Red Raiders at a No. 6 seed. They also do not put their teams in a true bracket but at that seed, Tech would face a No. 10 seed, which according to this site, would be either Texas, St. John’s, Ole Miss or Washington.

Moving on to the Power Rankings, we see greater movement for the Red Raiders. ESPN.com dropped Tech out of their rankings which go up to No. 15. Last week, they had Tech at No. 13.

Our friend Lukas Harkins over at Busting Brackets has Tech No. 15, down seven spots from last week. Harkins still says that he is a believer in the Red Raiders despite their rough stretch but like most he is concerned about the offense.

CBSSports.com also has Tech at No. 15 after the KSU loss. They point out that Tech is just 4-4 against top 50 teams this year.

Finally, the esteemed analytics guru, Ken Pomeroy has Tech at No. 15 as well. In his rankings, which are based on statistical analysis, Tech sits behind not only Kansas but Iowa State and Nebraska, against whom Tech owns a head-to-head win.

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Hopefully, the Red Raiders will get back to their winning ways Saturday against Arkansas which is No. 65 in Pomeroy’s rankings. And with the bulk of the Big 12 schedule left to go, there will be many more opportunities for the Red Raiders to earn marquee wins and reestablish their standing on the national scene.

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