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Despite devastating Elite Eight loss, fans show love to Texas Tech on social media

The 2024-25 Texas Tech basketball season came to the most painful of endings, but in the moments after the Elite Eight loss, fans were voicing their support.
ByMatthew Conner|
Mar 22, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot Raider Red gestures on the court before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Drake Bulldogs at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot Raider Red gestures on the court before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Drake Bulldogs at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After games like Texas Tech basketball fans had to endure on Saturday night, it might be hard to maintain some perspective. After all, fans had to ride the full gamut of emotions over the course of the two-plus hours. What's more, in just the final five minutes of regulation, we were taken from the elation of a 10-point lead to the agony of an 84-79 defeat.

Of course, what makes the Elite Eight loss to Florida all the more sickening is how it happened. On one hand, there is no shame in falling by five points to one of the best teams in college basketball.

However, the fact that it was late free-throw misses by the team's two best players, JT Toppin and Darrion Williams, that proved to be Tech's undoing made the outcome maddening. What's more, coming up just minutes shy of playing in the Final Four in San Antonio will likely haunt Red Raiders across Texas for years.

Still, even after such a gut-wrenching loss, Tech fans put on a good face in the moments after the game. Taking to social media to sort out their feelings and commiserate with fellow Red Raiders, fans by and large remained positive and supportive.

That is the healthy way to approach this season as a whole. After all, Tech was picked to finish just seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll, and had no preseason all-Big 12 honorees. Yet, this team managed to play its way to within a whisper of the Final Four.

What's more, the Red Raiders appear to be set up for a sustained run of excellence under head coach Grant McCasland, who already coached the program to the Elite Eight in just his second season in Lubbock. Thus, the future is bright in West Texas, and that knowledge helped Red Raiders keep their chins up despite the disappointment of the defeat. Here's a look at some of the top social media posts from fans and observers across the country following Tech's Elite Eight defeat.

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