March Madness is here and for the fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Texas Tech basketball team is dancing. That’s the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have had such a run of success when it comes to reaching college basketball’s premier event.
It’s amazing to think that this program has reached five of the last six NCAA Tournaments given the state of things just a decade ago.
In the 2011-12 season, Tech hoops hit rock bottom. That was the first year of the disastrous Billy Gillespie tenure, a run that would last only one season as Gillespie would resign for personal reasons just weeks prior to the start of the next season amid allegations of player mistreatment.
Ten years ago, Tech would win only eight games in the regular season while dropping 23. That included a 1-17 record in Big 12 play.
That season, the Red Raiders dropped games to Indiana State, Oral Roberts, and a non-Big 12 TCU team. Additionally, Gillespie’s team would lose 13 Big 12 games by ten points or more.
That season should serve as a stark reminder for current-day Red Raiders to appreciate the success that we are currently enjoying. And unprecedented success it has been.
Prior to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Tech had been ranked as high as a No. 3 seed only once in program history (1996). Now, Tech is a 3-seed for the third time in the last four tournaments.
But with such a lofty seeding comes lofty expectations. And Red Raider fans are no longer simply satisfied with a tournament appearance or even a win or two. Rather, we want to see a return to the Final Four.
Standing in the way of such a run is Tech’s first-round opponent, Montana State, a program that most around Raiderland are understandably unfamiliar with.
Currently, the Bobcats are 27-7 on the season. That includes a mark of 16-4 against Big Sky Conference opponents. What’s more, they have lost just twice in the calendar year.
On the other hand, they have not secured any wins over teams from a major conference. In fact, they have played only one, Colorado, who they lost to 94-90 in OT in the season’s first game. (For what it’s worth, the Buffalos were not an NCAA Tournament team this year. Rather, they played in the NIT where they lost their first-round game to St. Bonaventure.)
Still, that game proves that Montana State can put up a fight against a major conference opponent and Tech fans should expect to get the Bobcats’ best shot in round one. So to get ready for this matchup, let’s take a look at three things Red Raider fans should know about this No. 14 seed.