There are always moments when special teams realize what they are capable of. That's likely what we witnessed from the Texas Tech basketball team on Saturday night.
In an 82-81 victory over Houston in Space City, the Red Raiders showed the nation that they deserve to be considered amongst the best teams in the country.
From a resume perspective, Tech needed this win to put itself in the conversation for a top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Previously, the Red Raiders checked in anywhere from a No. 5 to a No. 8 seed in most "Bracketology" projections.
However, prior to Saturday, Tech had gone 0-2 against ranked teams this season leaving many to want to see more before considering the Red Raiders a true contender. The Red Raiders lost to then-No. 22 Texas A&M 72-67 in Fort Worth in early December in a game star forward JT Toppin missed not because of an ejection but because of an injury.
Then, in the fourth game of Big 12 play, Tech fell to then-No. 3 Iowa State 85-84 at home in overtime. That game saw the Red Raiders miss three critical free throws down the stretch as they blew a 13-point lead.
While the rest of what Tech had done in Big 12 play had been impressive, a 7-2 record including a 4-0 mark in road games, head coach Grant McCasland and his team still lacked a marquee win.
Tech needed to come up with the type of triumph that would vault them into the national conversation. This team needed to slay a dragon.
That's exactly what they did in Houston. As a result, people around the country were talking about the Red Raiders after their win over the No. 6 team in the country, one that came without JT Toppin or Grant McCasland for the final 36 minutes of play. So let's take a look at what the college basketball world had to say about Texas Tech on social media after the Red Raiders stunned the nation.