Grant McCasland and the Texas Tech Red Raiders have a great opportunity ahead of them. The Texas Tech men’s basketball team has the perfect chance to disrupt the Big 12 race on Saturday when the Red Raiders welcome the BYU Cougars to Lubbock.
Texas Tech looks like a solid team, but the Red Raiders haven’t played perfectly when playing on the road. That said, they’re 9-0 in home games and their next opponent is a team that is just shy of perfection so far this season.
So it’s going to be fascinating to see how things play out when the No. 15 Red Raiders face off against the No. 11 BYU Cougars, who are tied for first in the Big 12 right now.
Big 12 basketball standings: How do the Texas Tech Red Raiders compare to BYU ahead of matchup vs. the Cougars?
Here’s how the Big 12 standings currently look as the Red Raiders are getting set to face off against the BYU Cougars.
- Arizona Wildcats (17-0 overall, 4-0 Big 12)
- BYU Cougars (16-1 overall, 4-0 Big 12)
- Houston Cougars (16-1 overall, 4-0 Big 12)
- Iowa State Cyclones (16-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12)
- UCF Knights (14-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-4 overall, 3-1 Big 12)
- Kansas Jayhawks (13-5 overall, 3-2 Big 12)
- Colorado Buffaloes (12-5 overall, 2-2 Big 12)
- West Virginia Mountaineers (11-6 overall, 2-2 Big 12)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-4 overall, 1-3 Big 12)
- TCU Horned Frogs (11-6 overall, 1-3 Big 12)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (10-7 overall, 1-3 Big 12)
- Cincinnati Bearcats (9-8 overall, 1-3 Big 12)
- Baylor Bears (11-6 overall, 1-4 Big 12)
- Kansas State Wildcats (9-8 overall, 0-4 Big 12)
- Utah Utes (8-9 overall, 0-4 Big 12)
The Red Raiders are currently sandwiched right in the midst of the Big 12, but they are also still technically in fourth place in the conference. But because there are three teams tied for first place and three teams tied for second place, that puts Texas Tech in the middle of the conference.
A win over the Cougars on Saturday would give the Red Raiders a really significant win in so many ways. With Texas Tech’s lone conference loss coming at the hands of the Houston Cougars (in a closer, four-point matchup on January 6), getting a win over BYU would get the Red Raiders a win over a top tier Big 12 team that would help shake up the top end of the conference standings.
Plus, you know, there’s the whole resume boosting nature of this that factors into the postseason. Which would be nice to go ahead and get now.