Texas Tech basketball: What the showdown with Kentucky means for Red Raiders

It is being reported that the Texas Tech basketball team will host Kentucky in the Big 12/SEC challenge so let’s take a look at what that means for the Red Raiders.

In the world of college basketball, no name carries more weight than Kentucky.  That’s why Texas Tech basketball fans were so amped to learn that the Wildcats will be coming to Lubbock in January.

Tuesday, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein Tweeted out what his sources say will be the matchups for the 2020 Big 12/SEC Challenge and for the first time, Tech is going to be part of the event’s marquee matchup.

This will be the seventh year of the event with the BIg 12 holding a 4-1-1 advantage.  As for the Red Raiders, they have gone 4-2 and are currently riding a 3-game winning streak.

But this will likely be the first time that Tech will take on a ranked SEC team in the challenge.  Thus far, the opponents the Raiders have played have been Auburn, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina and Arkansas (twice) and none of those teams were in the top-25 at the time.  Meanwhile, Tech has been ranked in each of the last two SEC Challenges when the Raiders defeated South Carolina on the road and Arkansas in Lubbock.

Most expect Kentucky to be a top-10 team and national title contender once again in 2019-20.  Bringing in the No. 2 overall 2019 recruiting class in the nation to supplement a roster that returns former five-star recruits Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, EJ Montgomery and junior Nick Richards, as well as Bucknell graduate transfer Nate Sestina, the Cats will be a trendy pick to reach the Final Four in Atlanta.

Should they make it to the final weekend of the season, it would be UK’s first trip there since 2015.  This so-called drought comes on the heels of a run of four Final Fours in the previous five years under head coach John Calipari.

Certainly, reaching the Final Four is the bare minimum that fans in Lexington are willing to accept.  After all, the program has been there 17 times, winning 8 titles.  The Cats rank second all-time in Final Four appearances (trailing North Carolina by 3) and national championships (trailing UCLA by 3 as well).  What’s more, Kentucky has won the most games in NCAA history, 2,293.

Obviously, this will be a matchup pitting a traditional power against an up-and-comer looking to continue a meteoric rise.  Have never advanced past the Sweet 16 until 2018, Texas Tech now looks to take the next step in the evolution of the program and make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament to prove that this year’s run to the national title game and last year’s Elite 8 appearance were not aberrations.

Tech will be looking for its first-ever win over Kentucky.  The teams met four times between 1963-1994 with the Wildcats taking all four games.

Though we are over 180 days away from this game, the hype for Red Raider fans is already building.  This will be the most anticipated home game in program history and the U.S.A. will be electric.  Let’s take a look at what this special matchup means for Chris Beard’s program.