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Texas Tech basketball: The defining moments of the 2019-20 season

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 29: A video is played and flames shoot up as the Texas Tech Red Raiders are introduced 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: A video is played and flames shoot up as the Texas Tech Red Raiders are introduced 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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Forward Nick Richards #4 of the Kentucky Wildcats loses the tip-off to forward TJ Holyfield #22 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Forward Nick Richards #4 of the Kentucky Wildcats loses the tip-off to forward TJ Holyfield #22 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Though the 2019-20 Texas Tech basketball season was cut short, it provided plenty of drama so let’s look back at the defining moments from Chris Beard’s fourth year in charge.

When the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled, the Texas Tech basketball team was robbed of an opportunity to achieve a first in program history.  Had Chris Beard been able to take his team back to the Big Dance, it would have marked the first time in the history of Tech basketball that the Red Raiders had been to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years.

Of course, that was no certainty given the four-game losing streak that closed out the regular season.  After sitting at 18-9 (9-5 in the Big 12) after a 30-point victory over Iowa State on February 22, it seemed virtually certain that Tech would be part of the field of 68.

But thanks to the season-ending skid, many experts around the nation thought that the Red Raiders’ game with Texas in the Big 12 Tournament was essentially a play-in game with the loser missing out on a bid.  It would have been a fascinating moment of drama in Kansas City between two teams that split the regular-season series with each winning on the other’s home court.

Unfortunately, the teams were pulled off the court during warmups as the decision to cancel the Big 12 Tournament after just two games prevented us from seeing this showdown.  Needless to say, it was a hollow end to the season and it robbed us of what has become the most anticipated sporting event of the year in Lubbock, the NCAA Tournament.

So how do we put this past season in the proper context?  Basically, we can’t.  The picture never finished developing.

At first glance, we might label the season disappointing given Tech’s 18-13 record after beginning the season ranked No. 13 in the A.P. Poll.  But on the other hand, the team never had a chance to redeem the season by making another deep run in March.

Thus, we are left with just the regular season to interpret.  That can be as confusing as walking out of the movie “Inception” 30 minutes early and trying to make sense of what you just saw.

What we do know is that this was the fifth-straight winning season for Tech.  That’s the longest streak since six-straight winning seasons from 1991-91 to 1996-97.

It was certainly an up and down ride full of unforgettable moments.  So let’s look back at the defining moments of the recently-lost season, one that will be unlike any in Texas Tech history because of the unprecedented manner in which it ended.

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