Texas Tech basketball: Four critical games in second-half of Big 12 play

For the Texas Tech basketball team to have a successful run during the second half of Big 12 play, these four games need to be put in the win column.

Though it might not feel like it, the Texas Tech basketball team is in the exact same place in the Big 12 after nine games as last year’s Red Raiders were.  Now, the question is whether February of 2020 will be as successful as February of 2019 was.

For the second-straight year, Tech is at 5-4 in conference play.  But whereas no team had separated from the pack by this point last season, Baylor has taken a firm grasp on the conference race in 2020 at 9-0.

That might be one reason this year’s team feels a bit further behind the curve than last year’s squad did at this point of the year.  It seems like any hope of a Big 12 title is unlikely with Tech needing to have to make up at least four games on Baylor and three on second-place Kansas over the next nine games.

The good news for the Red Raiders is that they will have only two contests the rest of the way against ranked teams, the Bears and Jayhawks, with both being the final two games of the regular season.  That means though, that by the time the Feb. 29th game at home against Texas is played, the Red Raiders need to be firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble because those two games to end the season will be huge challenges against teams currently in the top 5.

As it presently stands, there are four more opportunities for Quadrant 1 victories in the regular season with the first being Saturday at Texas and the other three coming against OU, Baylor, and Kansas.  What’s more, important Quadrant 2 wins could be had against TCU, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State (though where each of those teams sits in the NET rankings when they meet the Red Raiders could change that number).

It’s going to be a fascinating end to the regular season.  This is a team that we all believe is of NCAA Tournament quality but there is plenty of work to be done if Beard and his team are going to have another shot at making noise in March.

So let’s take a look at four games that the Red Raiders need to capture over the last nine games of the regular season in order to make certain that we are not losing sleep as Selection Sunday looms.  And we will start with the next game on the schedule, which Beard will always tell you is the most important game of the season.