The latest college basketball polls have been released and to the surprise of some, the Texas Tech basketball team was not hurt by Saturday's loss to Arizona. In fact, in one of the polls, the Red Raiders moved up a spot despite going just 1-1 last week.
In both the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll, Tech is at No. 12 this week. That's a one-spot jump in the A.P. poll and no movement in the Coaches.
Usually, voters tend to move teams up and down based mostly on their most recent result. That's only natural because it is the most top-of-mind bullet point they have to go on when casting their vote.
Thus, the fact that Tech lost at Arizona on Saturday might have caused many Red Raider fans to expect their team to take a small tumble. However, the voters did not punish head coach Grant McCasland and his team for dropping a game in one of the most difficult arenas in the Big 12 to win a game.
On the rise 📈 pic.twitter.com/3RuYQty8cY
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 10, 2025
Alabama has risen to No. 1 in both polls with Auburn at No. 2 in each. In the A.P. poll, Duke, Florida, and Tennessee round out the top five with Duke and Florida tied for the No. 3 spot. In the Coaches, Florida is at No. 3, Tennessee is at No. 4, and Duke is at No. 5.
The highest-ranked Big 12 team in each poll is Houston. The Cougars are at No. 6 in each. Other Big 12 teams in the top 25 are Iowa State (No. 10 in both polls), Arizona (No. 13 in both polls), and Kansas (No. 17 in the A.P. and No. 20 in the Coaches). The only other Big 12 team that received votes was Baylor which got one vote in the Coaches Poll.
The Red Raiders now embark upon a four-game stretch against unranked opponents before taking on Houston and Kansas in back-to-back games, the final two regular-season games against ranked teams. Therefore, it is conceivable that the Red Raiders will enter the postseason as a top-25 squad.
Of course, the goal is not just to be ranked but to make noise in March. Still, it is fun to see that the nation is finally noticing what McCasland's team has accomplished thus far in 2024-25.