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

Tech will have another measuring stick game

Now that the Red Raiders are playing with the big boys of the sport, the program needs at least one non-conference game each year to tell it just how it stacks up with other elite teams.  Kentucky will be that opportunity in 2020, just as Duke was this past season.

Taking on a Duke team that featured three players that would be eventual first-round NBA Draft picks in 2019, Tech proved that it was ready to compete at the highest levels.  In fact, the Red Raiders held the lead over the No. 2 Blue Devils for much of the second half.

Ultimately losing 69-58, the Red Raiders still gained quite a bit from going toe-to-toe with Duke.  First of all, the program got a ton of national exposure by playing in Madison Square Garden in New York City in a nationally-televised game.

Second, it was in that game that Jarrett Culver made millions of dollars.  With 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, the Lubbock native was the best player on the court and did wonders for his draft status.   Could the same happen for a Red Raider in January when the eyes of the country will be fixed on the showdown with Kentucky?

But most importantly, the team gained tremendous confidence by playing Duke.  This was the moment when we first saw that Tech’s defense could hold up against an elite offensive team. That likely went a long way in March when the Red Raiders took on Gonzaga in the Elite 8.

Teams must challenge themselves each year by playing competition that is at or above their own level.  Like the 2018-19 team, the next version of the Red Raiders will feature quite a few new parts as at least nine new players are set to be in the rotation next year.  And when they take on Kentucky in January, they will find out quite a bit about where they are as a team.