ESPN's Fran Fraschilla blown away by Texas Tech crowd on Monday night

There is no question that college basketball has become a passion in West Texas. After all, the Texas Tech basketball team has had more success in the past five years than any other program on campus other than Wes Kittley's men's track program.

Still, for many people around the country, Lubbock remains a football town. Perhaps that is because it is located in Texas where everyone knows football is king. Or maybe that perecption is a hold over from the Mike Leach years when Red Raider football was one of the feel-good stories in the nation.

Whatever the reason, people around the country still don't put the Texas Tech basketball home environment on par with those found at traditional powers such as Kansas, Duke, or Kentucky. Anyone who has paid attention, though, can quickly see that every time the Red Raiders have a huge home game on national television, the atmosphere inside United Supermarkets Arena is off the charts and rivals anything in the sport.

That was the case again on Monday night when the No. 10 Red Raiders took on No. 4 Houston in a Big 12 showdown. In fact, the crowd was so electric that ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, who was on the call in Lubbock, posted on X about how amazing the scene was.

Fraschilla wrote, "Truly all-time atmosphere last night at USA in Lubbock last night. Just an incredible transformation of turning ⁦⁩ into a “basketball school,” too. Be proud of your team."

There were several factors that made Monday's environment one of the best in years in Lubbock. First was the fact that this was a rare top-10 home game for the program. Second, the surprise attendance of Patrick Mahomes II added some juice to the building. Third, the fact that the game was an ESPN Big Monday broadcast made it feel even more like a heavyweight clash.

It all led to a fantastic scene on the South Plains. Of course, that was no surprise given the footage of the students who camped out for days prior and lined up by the thousands several hours prior to tip just to get a seat.

Crowds like the one we saw in Lubbock on Monday night have been common during the modern era of the program. When Kentucky came to Lubbock in 2020, then Wildcats head coach John Calipari said that the crowd as as good as any he has seen. He even described the crowd in Lubbock as "classy" before saying that the environment was "unique and special".

Of course, the feelings weren't as amicable in 2022 when former Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard returned to Lubbock for the first (and only) time as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. That atmosphere is still talked about in basketball circles as being one of the most hostile and intimidating the sport has ever seen.

Monday night was another charged atmosphere inside United Supermarkets Arena and Fraschilla, a man who has been in almost every arena in the country during his coaching and broadcasting careers, spoke about it on X. It is a reminder that the Texas Tech basketball program has built a special and unique bond with its fan base.