Texas Tech basketball: Takeaways from Red Raiders’ Big 12 schedule

The Big 12 has released its conference basketball schedule and that has many Texas Tech basketball fans excited about the upcoming season.  So let’s take a look at some takeaways from the conference slate of games.

Texas game on February 1st

The main piece of information all Tech fans wanted to know about the upcoming season was the date of the Texas Longhorns’ visit to Lubbock.  That will be the biggest game in the history of United Supermarkets Arena and one that you won’t want to take your children to.

Interestingly, this game is scheduled for Tuesday, February 1st.  Why the people at ESPN didn’t want this to be on Big Monday is beyond me as it is sure to be a high-profile matchup with a juicy backdrop.

But thankfully, this game will take place when the students are on campus.  There was a chance that the Big 12 could have scheduled this as one of the early January games meaning that it would have taken place prior to the return of the students from winter break.  That might have been preferable to the Big 12 because it would have diminished the possibility of offensive actions towards UT head coach Chris Beard.

Interestingly, this game also comes right after the Big 12/SEC Challenge, which will bring Mississippi State to Lubbock in another somewhat high-profile matchup.  And it proceeds a Red Raider road trip to Morgantown to face an always tough West Virginia program.

Thus, Tech had best not put all its focus on February 1st.  But as for the fans, you can be certain that they will have this date cleared on the calendar and they will be ready to give Beard a West Texas welcome the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

Only one set of back-to-back home games

In Big 12 play, there is only one set of back-to-back home games for Tech this season.  That comes on January 18th and 22nd when Iowa State and West Virginia come calling.

Meanwhile, there are two instances when Tech will face consecutive road contests.  They are January 11th and January 15th when Tech travels to Baylor and Kansas State respectively and February 5th and 9th when Tech is at WVU and at Oklahoma.

Now, as we have already stated, Tech will have a back-to-back set of games at United Supermarkets Arena on January 29th and February 1st when Miss State and UT come to Lubbock.  But as far as Big 12 play goes, Tech has only one chance for consecutive home games, and an opportunity to build some momentum in the middle of what is always a brutal Big 12 round-robin schedule.

The toughest back-to-backs possible

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders will face two sets of back-to-back games that are about as tough as any in college basketball.  How they navigate these four games could determine if Mark Adams’ team is going to be a true Big 12 contender this year.

On January 8th, Kansas will come to the South Plains for their yearly visit and that’s a game that will take place prior to the return of the students.  Meanwhile, on January 11th, Tech then must travel to Baylor.  The Ferrell Center has become a house of horrors for the Red Raiders in recent years as Tech has not won there since before the Chris Beard era began.

Meanwhile, on February 16th, Tech will host the Bears before traveling to Austin on the 19th.  That could be back-to-back games against teams that will start the year ranked in the top 10.

Tech needs to find a way to go 2-2 in these four games in order to have any shot at competing for the Big 12 title.  But that’s going to be easier said than done as these four contests have to be among the toughest tests any team in the nation will face this year.

Manageable closing stretch

Every coach wants to go into the postseason with his team playing at its best.  Fortunately for Adams, this year’s schedule could provide an opportunity for his team to ride a wave of momentum into the Big 12 Tournament.

The final four games of the regular season are against Oklahoma in Lubbock, at TCU, vs. Kansas State in Lubbock, and at Oklahoma State.  That’s a manageable stretch that Tech needs to take advantage of.

Oklahoma will be under the guidance of a new head coach, Porter Moser, so they could be in for the dreaded “transition year”.  Meanwhile, TCU is still coached by Jamie Dixon, who has been Texas Tech’s personal punching bag in recent years.

Kansas State will be picked to finish near the bottom of the conference again this year and Oklahoma State will be without last year’s star and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham.  In other words, these look like four winnable games.

Tech will want to finish the regular season strong, especially if the Red Raiders are in the dreaded “bubble” conversation as it pertains to the NCAA Tournament.  Thus, it could be an advantage to have these four games on the schedule to wrap up the regular season.