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Texas Tech basketball: Loss to OSU wasn’t as damaging as many believe

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 29: The Texas Tech Red Raiders court is empty before the college basketball game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on January 29, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 29: The Texas Tech Red Raiders court is empty before the college basketball game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on January 29, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Kamaka Hepa #33 of the Texas Longhorns defends Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
Kamaka Hepa #33 of the Texas Longhorns defends Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

Tech did not drop in the Big 12 standings and only fell two places in the polls

We have known for quite some time that Tech wasn’t going to win repeat as Big 12 regular season champions.  In fact, most of us came into this year not even focused on that aspect of the season but simply wanting this team to just get to the NCAA Tournament and have another shot at making some serious noise.

The loss to Oklahoma State did nothing to change the likelihood of that happening.  Nor did it even hurt Tech’s standing in the Big 12 race.

Because West Virginia lost to Baylor in Waco, Tech remains in third place in the conference behind Baylor and Kansas.  That’s good news for seeding in the Big 12 Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament.

What’s more, Tech dropped only two spots in the polls from No. 24 to No. 26.  In other words, this loss hurt our pride and our emotions more than it hurt Tech’s postseason outlook.

It seems as if there’s little chance Tech can jump into a top-4 seeding in the NCAA Tournament.  Teams with nine losses (and Tech will likely enter the NCAA Tournament with at least 11 losses) don’t get that honor.  Thus, there’s not a huge difference between being seeded anywhere from 5 to 7.

The goal for the Red Raiders is to avoid being an 8 or 9 seed because those teams have to face a No. 1 seed in the second round.  Even being a 10 seed is better than that.

Fortunately, Tech is not on the NCAA Tournament bubble.  If the Red Raiders can finish third in the regular-season Big 12 standings, there’s no way they don’t get a bid to the Big Dance.  A league as highly-regarded as this one will always have more than three teams invited.

In the NCAA Net rankings, Tech still sits at No. 21 overall.  That’s one spot ahead of No. 14 Oregon.

What’s more, there are still opportunities for important Quadrant 1 wins on the schedule.  Winning at OU and Baylor while also beating Kansas at home would possibly vault the Red Raiders to a top 5 seed, especially if they make a deep run in the conference tournament in Kansas City.

Should all of that happen, we won’t look back on this loss to Oklahoma State as anything more than a minor irritation, a Saturday afternoon somewhat tainted by lackluster performance.  In the end, this loss isn’t going to be one that keeps Tech out of the Tournament nor is it one that will prevent the Red Raiders from having a shot to reach their ultimate goal.

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