Texas Tech opens the NCAA Tournament as a 5-seed against 12-seed Akron in Tampa, with the Red Raiders carrying elite shooting and serious upset awareness.
Texas Tech basketball is back in March Madness, but the Red Raiders did not get a sleepy first-round draw.
No. 5 seed Texas Tech will face No. 12 Akron on Friday at 11:40 a.m. CT in Tampa, with the winner advancing to meet either No. 4 Alabama or No. 13 Hofstra on Sunday in the Midwest Region.
That is the kind of matchup that looks friendly until it punches you in the mouth.
Grant McCasland is clearly not interested in pretending otherwise. He said “It’s an expectation here” to reach the tournament, but also stressed the bigger standard is “to win and make a run.” He also called these games dangerous, saying “These 5-12 games are always dangerous,” before adding, “We’re all in on preparing for Akron.”
He is right to sound the alarm.
Akron enters the NCAA Tournament at 29-5, fresh off a MAC Tournament title and riding a 10-game winning streak.
This is not some random 12-seed hoping to hang around for 25 minutes. The Zips have won a lot, and they are arriving with momentum.
Texas Tech, though, has the firepower to make this ugly for opponents. The Red Raiders are 22-10, making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and they remain one of the nation’s nastiest shooting teams.
Tech leads the Big 12 with 11.5 made threes per game, ranks fifth nationally in that category, and sits sixth nationally in 3-point percentage at 39.3 percent.
The leader is Christian Anderson, who averages 18.9 points and 7.6 assists per game, leads the Big 12 in assists, and already owns the program’s single-season records for assists (236) and made 3s before teammate Donovan Atwell pushed the 3-point mark to 124.
Atwell adds 13.5 points per game and is shooting 45.4 percent from deep, while LeJuan Watts chips in 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
The wild card remains the absence of JT Toppin, who is out for the season after averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 16 double-doubles before his injury. That changes the ceiling, but not the danger level.
Texas Tech has enough shooting to blow the doors off a bracket. It also has the kind of first-round opponent that can ruin a weekend if the Red Raiders drift. That is why McCasland’s tone matters. He is not selling comfort. He is selling urgency. And in March, that is usually the smarter play.