In the portion of March before an official NCAA Tournament Bracket is released, college basketball fans love to pour over the latest Bracketology projections to see where their favorite team might be seeded in the Big Dance. While many of those fans are simply hoping that their team squeaks into the field, some are looking to see how highly-seeded their team will be. That's the case for Texas Tech basketball fans who are riding high after Wednesday night's 91-75 victory over Colorado in Lubbock.
The Red Raiders are now 23-7 overall and 14-5 in Big 12 action. They sit in second place in the conference standings and will be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament next week if they can beat Arizona State in Tempe on Saturday night.
That resume has vaulted the Red Raiders up the seeding line in the latest Bracketology projection from ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi, one of the pioneers of the Bracketoloy craze. In fact, in Lunardi's latest projection, the Red Raiders are in rare air.
Thursday, Lunardi shared his latest NCAA Tournament projection on X, and Texas Tech checked in as the No. 8 overall seed. That would make the Red Raiders the final No. 2 seed in the field.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 6, 2025
Tech has never been a No. 2 seed. Thus, Lunardi is projecting that if the field were to be set right now, the Red Raiders would make program history.
Lunardi puts Tech in the West Region. There, they are paired with No. 1 seed Florida, one of the hottest teams in America.
Also in that region, Lunardi has No. 3 seed Wisconsin (his top No. 3 seed) and No. 4 seed Kentucky (the No. 13 overall seed). The West Region is the region that Texas Tech won in 2019 to reach its first-ever Final Four en route to an appearance in the National Championship Game. Of course, Red Raider fans wouldn't mind seeing history repeat itself this year.
There is still plenty of work to be done for Tech if a No. 2 seed is to be earned, though. Tech may need to beat Arizona State, a team that took the Red Raiders to double-OT in Lubbock last month, and then win a game or two in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri next week to secure that high of a ranking given how many teams are in the mix for a No. 2 seed.
Still, just the fact that people outside of Raiderland are talking about the Red Raiders as one of the top eight seeds in the field is an indication of how respected Grant McCasland's team is. It also proves that Texas Tech basketball is going to be a serious contender when the madness begins later this month.