Texas Tech basketball bracketology: Red Raiders possible No. 4 seed

In the latest check of national bracketology predictions, the Texas Tech basketball team checks in as high as a No. 4 seed.

With just a week to go until March, national bracketology “experts” are stepping up their game and getting ready for their time in the spotlight. Fortunately for Texas Tech basketball fans, the question is not whether or not the Red Raiders will be in this year’s field of 68 but rather how high Chris Beard’s team will be seeded.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi puts Tech as a No. 4 seed taking on one the biggest stars in the sport. Lunardi has Tech matched up against Murray State which features explosive guard Ja Morant. The 6-foot-3 sophomore is averaging 24.3 points per game this year and is expected to be a top 5 NBA Draft pick this summer.

This matchup would be both exciting and dangerous. It would be a thrill to see Morant and Jarrett Culver go head to head in a matchup of expected lottery picks but Morant is explosive enough to carry his team to an upset if he gets hot as so many mid-major stars do in the NCAA Tournament.

Also slotting Tech as a 4 seed is CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm. In his latest bracket, he has the Red Raiders taking on New Mexico State in Salt Lake City. Interestingly, Tech would have a rematch with Duke in the Sweet 16 in Palm’s bracket. Duke beat Tech 69-58 in Madison Square Garden back in December.

Our friend Lukas Harkins over at Busting Brackets also has Tech as a No. 4 seed. He sees Tech taking on Yale out of the Ivy League. Tech would potentially face Wisconsin in the round of 32 before facing Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. Tech beat the Bulldogs in the second round of the 2005 tournament as a No. 6 seed.

Chris Dobbertean of SBNation has Tech at a No. 5 seed taking on Davidson, the alma mater of the Golden State Warriors’ star Steph Curry. Tennessee is the No. 1 seed in Tech’s region in this bracket setting up a possible Sweet 16 showdown with former Texas Longhorns coach Rick Barnes who is now head coach of the Volunteers.

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Patrick Stevens of The Washington Post also has Tech and Tennessee in the same bracket. He has the No. 5 seeded Red Raiders taking on the champion of the Colonial Athletic Conference, which will likely be 22-5 Hofstra.

NBC Sports’ Dave Ommen is yet another prognosticator that has the Red Raiders as a No. 5 seed. If Tech takes care of the winner of a first round game between two No.12 seeds in UNC-Greensboro and Utah State, Ommen has a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 matchup with Purdue in this year’s round of 32.

What may be keeping the Red Raiders from being a higher seed at this time is their losing record against quadrant-one teams. In short, the NCAA selection committee looks at how many wins a team has against the top 1/4 of teams in the nation (quadrant-one teams) as a metric for evaluation.

Tech currently is just 4-5 in such games while being 17-0 against all other teams. There remains two opportunities for Q1 wins in the regular season with Kansas and Iowa State still on the docket. Plus, Tech would do itself some good if it could pick up a Q1 win or two in the Big 12 tournament.

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Of course, if Tech picks up multiple Q1 wins in Kansas City, it could very well be playing for a Big 12 Tournament title. Winning that event would not only give Tech an automatic bid to the Big Dance but would also be a huge boost in its eventual seeding. So while Tech is squarely in the field of 68, there still remain plenty of opportunities for the Red Raiders to earn a more favorable seed by the time Selection Sunday rolls around.

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