Texas Tech basketball: My favorite in-person memories as a Red Raider

The first two rounds of the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Dallas

There were too many special moments from the Texas Tech basketball team’s first two games of the 2018 NCAA Tournament to count.  But what I took away from the two games in Dallas was the fact that Red Raider basketball had arrived on the national scene like never before.  Experiencing that in person was special.

Following that weekend, Craig Miller of KTCK “The Ticket” in Dallas said that he had never heard the American Airlines Center more raucous than it was for Tech’s win over Florida in the second round.  Indeed, the home of the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks was about 95% pro-Tech that night and seeing the Red Raider fan base come out in droves to will Chris Beard’s team to victory against a feisty Florida team was something I’ll always cherish.

To understand just how amazing the crowd was that night, just look at the video below that I took from the top row of the arena.  It remains the best “Raider Power” chant I’ve ever seen.  So much for a neutral site contest.

That weekend really belonged to Zhaire Smith who did wonders for his eventual NBA Draft stock.  His two signature plays were his 360 alley-oop dunk against S.F.A. in the first round and the dunk off of a lob from Keenan Evans in the closing minute to help put away Florida in the second round.

Leaving the A.A.C. after the Florida game, the Double T was displayed on the iconic Dallas landmark, Reunion Tower.  It was a surreal moment and one that signaled the true arrival of Texas Tech basketball and more importantly, Chirs Beard on the national stage.

Up to that point, the success of that season had been largely overlooked by the national sports media, especially after Evans’ toe injury prevented Tech from making a run at the Big 12 title.  But once the Red Raiders reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005, there was no denying that Tech hoops was not only a program on the rise but that it was also a player at the highest levels of the game.

That weekend in Dallas was as much a celebration of Texas Tech basketball as it was anything else.  Almost like a college football bowl game, it was a reward for a fantastic and unexpected season and it was a cathartic experience for a fan base that had to endure some truly horrendous basketball over the previous decade before returning to the national spotlight.