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Texas Tech basketball: Falling out of the polls could be a blessing in disguise

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders conducts a timeout huddle during the second half of the college basketball game against the Baylor Bears on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders conducts a timeout huddle during the second half of the college basketball game against the Baylor Bears on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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After dropping games to TCU and Kentucky last week, the Texas Tech basketball team has fallen out of the top 25 and that could be just what this team needs.

There’s a belief among many that the Texas Tech basketball program is more dangerous as an underdog or a team that gets to play the role of the hunter rather than the hunted.  If that’s the case, the fact that the Red Raiders have fallen out of the national polls might be a blessing in disguise.

After losing to TCU and Kentucky last week, Tech went from No. 18 to unranked in both national polls this week. In the A.P. poll, Tech is third in the “others receiving votes” category behind Creighton and Arizona.  In the Coaches Poll, the Red Raiders are behind just Arizona.

This is the first time since the week of December 9th that the Red Raiders have been unranked.  That came on the heels of three-straight losses to Iowa, Creighton, and DePaul.  But on December 10th, the Red Raiders managed to knock off No. 1 Louisville to vault back into the polls where they remained until the season’s third losing streak ruined the last week of basketball.

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Interestingly, there are a number of teams not in this week’s polls that are in the same boat as Texas Tech.  Ohio State, which was once ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation, is now on the outside looking in.  Additionally, Arizona and Memphis are now unranked after spending most of this year in the top 25.

Baylor remains No. 1 in both polls with Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State comprising the rest of the top 4 in each set of rankings.  In the A.P. Poll, Florida State is No. 5 and in the Coaches Poll, Louisville is back into the top 5.

Though we don’t like seeing the Red Raiders struggle, this feels like a blessing in disguise.  Now, Chris Beard can go back to playing the disrespect card that he rode all the way to last year’s National Title Game.

While the loss to TCU was ugly, what we saw out of Texas Tech in Saturday night’s two-point OT loss to No. 15 Kentucky sure looked like one of the 25 best teams in the nation.  But on the other hand, this team does not have a top 25 resume at this point of the year with only the victory over Louisville to point to as a quality win thus making the fall from the polls logical.

There are two opportunities for massive wins this week with No. 12 West Virginia coming to Lubbock on Wednesday and a trip to No. 3 Kanas on Saturday.  And now, Beard will be able to convince his team that no one outside of Lubbock believes they are supposed to win either of those games.

Being counted out was a theme of the last two seasons when Tech made runs to the Elite Eight and Final Four that no one beyond the Red Raider locker room thought possible.  Now, no one seems to think this year’s team is capable of being an elite team and with the exception of one game in early December, that’s been true.  But now that Beard and his squad have another reason to have a chip on their shoulders, they might be as dangerous as they’ve been all season.

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