Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech fans enjoy talking smack on social media after Saturday's win over Arizona

After the Texas Tech basketball team's win over Arizona, Red Raider fans took to social media to revel in a win in what feels like a budding new rivalry.
ByMatthew Conner|
Jan 18, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general view of a time-out in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Arizona Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; A general view of a time-out in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Arizona Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

With the changes to the Big 12 over the past decade-plus, Texas Tech has lost some significant rivals including Texas and Texas A&M. However, it feels as if there is potential for some fun animosity between the Red Raiders and the Arizona Wildcats.

Both fan bases are passionate about their school and both seem to be particularly boisterous on social media. Leading up to Saturday's basketball game between the Red Raiders and the Wildcats in Lubbock, plenty of back and forth between the two fandoms was flying all over X.

Perhaps it is fitting that Tech and Arizona get back to disliking one another. After all, the two teams do have history.

From 1932-57, the Red Raiders and Wildcats were members of the Border Conference. Thus, there is some history as conference foes between the two universities. Of course, that was so long ago that most fans of each school have no memories of that.

Still, there are similarities between the two schools, and that usually makes for interesting rivalries. Each school's fan base is as prideful of the social opportunities that exist in Lubbock and Tucson respectively as it is of the academics taught on campus.

Both schools are considered to be in the desert and both have a strong connection to the saguaro cactus. Of course, Arizona is located where the saguaros grow and Texas Tech has come to use the saguaro cactus emoji as a rallying cry for the past few years since the minor controversy involving one of the TCU football coaches in 2022.

What's more, both schools are wildly passionate about sports, especially basketball. Thus, Red Raider and Wildcat fans were not shy about trading jabs online ahead of Saturday's game between the two schools in Lubbock, the first of two scheduled matchups between the two basketball programs this season and the first with both as members of the Big 12.

Thankfully, it was the Red Raiders who came out on top. The 70-54 win gave Tech fans temporary bragging rights and the folks in Raiderland made the most of their opportunity to fire shots at their new conference foes. Here are some of the best celebratory posts that Texas Tech fans made on X after knocking off the Wildcats in hoops just as the Texas Tech football team did to Arizona last fall in Tucson.

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