The Texas Tech basketball team seems to have righted the ship after a surprising loss to UCF to open Big 12 play. Two wins in the state of Utah have seen the Red Raiders play much better basketball, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
Though it is very early in the Big 12 season, Tech has positioned itself to compete at the top of the league. Right now, there are three teams atop the conference race at 3-0 (Houston, Iowa State, and Arizona). Then, Texas Tech, Kansas, UCF, West Virginia, and Baylor all sit at 2-1.
Now, the Red Raiders can make some noise in the league and around the nation over the next four games. Though the upcoming schedule is daunting, it is also going to provide the Red Raiders with opportunities for wins that would carry a ton of weight on Selection Sunday as well as in the conference title picture.
That begins with tomorrow's showdown with No. 3 Iowa State in Lubbock. The Cyclones are widely viewed as the best team in the Big 12 and they enter the contest with a 13-1 overall record.
Then, Tech travels to Kansas State for a Tuesday night game. Though the Wildcats are only 7-7 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 action, they usually give Texas Tech fits in Bramlage Coliseum which is often referred to as "The Octagon of Doom". In fact, Tech has won just three of its last ten games at Kansas State.
After that, the Red Raiders head back home for another marquee showdown. On January 18, the suddenly red-hot Arizona Wildcats will come to Lubbock for the first time as a conference foe.
Though the Wildcats are currently unranked, they have overcome a disappointing start to the season to secure wins over TCU, then-No. 16 Cincinnati, and No. 21 West Virginia to start conference play perfect. However, when they come to Lubbock, they will be fresh off of a home game against Baylor so Tech fans hope that contest with the Bears will take some of the wind out of Arizona's sails.
Finally, the four-game gauntlet wraps up with the Red Raiders heading back out on the road to face a perplexing Cincinnati team. The Bearcats began the season by surprising quite a few people. In non-conference play, they went 10-1 thanks in part to nice wins over Dayton and Georgia Tech. In that time, their only loss was a 68-60 defeat at Villanova.
Since then, though, the Bearcats have found life to be difficult. They have started Big 12 play 0-3 with losses to Kansas State, Arizona, and Baylor with the first and last of those games being on the road. Tomorrow, their path doesn't get any easier as they host No. 11 Kansas. But then, they have a chance to get right by playing at Colorado and hosting Arizona State before the Red Raiders come to town.
The Red Raiders are in a position where they need to pick up more high-quality wins. Due in part to a weak non-conference schedule and the fact that Tech went just 2-2 against teams from power-conferences outside of the Big 12, the Red Raiders' NCAA Tournament hopes rest solely on what they do in the 20-game conference race.
Wining at Utah and BYU helped put the Red Raiders in a better position as far as their tournament resume is concerned but to stay off of the bubble as March arrives, the Red Raiders must find a way to stack impressive wins together.
The next four contests put Tech up against three teams in the top 36 of the NCAA NET Rankings meaning there are three Quad-1 wins to be had in that span. What's more, with K-State sitting at No. 117 in the NET, that is an opportunity for a Quad-2 win.
After this four-game stretch, Tech has two games at home, vs. Oklahoma State and TCU, that they will be heavily favored to win. So if the Red Raiders can find a way to pick up at least three wins in the next four games and then take care of the Cowboys and Horned Frogs at home, they could be in great shape when they head to Houston on February 1.
It won't be easy though, as life in the Big 12 seems to always be full of surprises. Of course, head coach Grant McCasland and his team will be taking things one game at a time and will be focused only on tomorrow's daunting test against the Cyclones.
Red Raider fans, though, can dare to dream a little bit and as they do, they can see how crucial the next four games will be. The Red Raiders have played well in the past week and now, they need to use that momentum to help them pick up some wins that will pay off in a big way when the field of 68 is set.