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Texas Tech basketball: Plenty has changed since first meeting with Texas

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Jahmi'us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders blocks a shot by Courtney Ramey #3 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 08: Jahmi'us Ramsey #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders blocks a shot by Courtney Ramey #3 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 08: Kamaka Hepa #33 of the Texas Longhorns defends Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 08: Kamaka Hepa #33 of the Texas Longhorns defends Kyler Edwards #0 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders at The Frank Erwin Center on February 08, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

Texas has renewed hope for an NCAA Tournament bid

It is hard to believe given the way most of this season went for Shaka Smart and his team but there’s a chance that Texas can still earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.  That was almost inconceivable when Tech won in Austin at the start of this month.

Back then, the Horns had lost five of their last seven games (including the loss to Tech) and they would drop their next two after falling to the Red Raiders.  That included a dreadful 29-point loss at lowly Iowa State.

At that point in time, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Smart’s tenure in Austin was going to end after this season.  But somehow, UT has rebounded from that stretch of awful basketball, in which they lost seven of nine games, to keep their postseason hopes alive.

They have won their last three games since that drubbing in Ames, including a 67-57 home win against No. 20 West Virginia in their last game.  In other words, they are picking up steam and if there was any thought that the Horns would have given up on the season when they came to Lubbock, that notion is no longer worth considering.

Texas has a rather unimpressive non-conference schedule and as a result, there are no Quadrant 1 out-of-conference wins on their resume.  Thus, they likely need to pick up another quality victory or two in order to get to the Big Dance.  That’s why they have to see this game in Lubbock as a huge opportunity.

Sitting 4th in the league standings now, one spot behind Tech, the Horns finish the season with games against the two Oklahoma schools next week.  So aside from any potential opportunity in the Big 12 Tournament, Texas has only one more chance at picking up a win that would truly boost their tournament resume and that’s by beating the Red Raiders.

We often don’t think of Texas athletics and fighting back from the brink of disaster as being synonymous.  But this year’s UT squad has figured out a way to give itself something meaningful to play for down the stretch and that’s far from what anyone expected the last time the Red Raiders saw the Horns.

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