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Texas Tech basketball: The most important games remaining on the schedule

By Matthew Conner

Feb 1, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; An inflatable Texas Tech Red Raider outside the United Supermarkets Arena before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; An inflatable Texas Tech Red Raider outside the United Supermarkets Arena before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 2, 2020; Waco, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) makes a move on Baylor Bears guard Davion Mitchell (45) during the first half at Ferrell Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2020; Waco, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) makes a move on Baylor Bears guard Davion Mitchell (45) during the first half at Ferrell Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: @ Baylor

If the Texas Tech basketball team wants to secure a win that’s truly going to shake up the landscape of the sport, there’s only one opportunity left.  That’s why the game at Baylor on February 13 carries some significant weight.

It isn’t going to be easy to take down the nation’s No. 2 team on their own court.  After all, Baylor beat the Red Raiders 68-60 in Lubbock last month.

But it isn’t impossible to envision a scenario in which Tech could pull off that upset.  That’s because in Lubbock, Tech played Baylor as close as any team in the country has thus far, and that was on a night when second-leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. managed to score only two points. On the other hand, The Red Raiders have not won in Waco since 2016 as the Ferrell Center has been a tough place to navigate.

This game is only the third-most important remaining contest because it is one that can only help the Red Raiders.  Losing to the Bears would not be a damning blow to Tech’s NCAA Tournament chances and it looks like the Bears have already put the conference race to bed so there won’t be much on the line other than the Red Raiders having an opportunity to score the type of win that could vault them up a seed or two come March.  Plus, it would be rather satisfying to be the team that ended Baylor’s dream of a perfect season.

This game will arrive quickly, a week from Saturday.  And it will come right after another game on this list making next week another brutal test for Chris Beard and his team.  But if Tech can find a way to score this upset, it could be the catapult that launches the Red Raiders to a special end to the season.

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