Texas Tech basketball enters the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 4 seed, as Grant McCasland hopes rest and adjustments spark a postseason run.
Texas Tech basketball is entering the 2026 Big 12 Tournament with something every team wants in March ... time to reset.
The Red Raiders finished the regular season 22-9 overall and 12-6 in Big 12 play, earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
That positioning gives Texas Tech a valuable two-game bye and extra preparation time before taking the court Thursday in Kansas City.
Head coach Grant McCasland believes those extra days off could be exactly what his team needs after a physically demanding conference schedule.
“We got a couple of days, and this league is so grueling that every night you get an opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the country,” McCasland said.
“This year, our league has the best winning percentage against all the other major leagues. It just shows you how difficult it can be every night.”
The Red Raiders will open tournament play against either Iowa State or Arizona State, but before focusing on opponents, McCasland says the staff is using the downtime to evaluate the team’s weaknesses.
“We feel like we’ve got some things want to adjust, not just rest,” McCasland explained.
“I think it’s important for our players to rest, but for our staff to kind of lean into some things that can make us a lot better with this run we’ve got coming up.”
Texas Tech closed the regular season with back-to-back losses, including a frustrating defeat against BYU that ultimately cost the Red Raiders a chance to move up to the No. 3 seed in the tournament bracket.
For McCasland, the loss exposed several issues that must be fixed quickly if Texas Tech plans to make a deep postseason run.
“The tale of two halves where we didn’t defensive rebound well enough,” McCasland said.
“When you make 12 threes in the first half, you would expect to have a better advantage… but they were really crushing us on the glass.”
The Red Raiders’ biggest challenge late in the season has been defending the paint and controlling rebounds.
Those problems intensified when junior forward JT Toppin suffered a season-ending injury with five games remaining in the regular season.
Toppin’s absence removed a physical presence inside and forced Texas Tech to rely more heavily on perimeter scoring.
Fortunately, others have stepped up. Guards Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell have emerged as key playmakers down the stretch, providing scoring punch and leadership as the roster adjusted to Toppin’s absence.
If Texas Tech hopes to survive the brutal Big 12 Tournament field, that duo will need to continue producing.
The Red Raiders proved throughout the regular season they can compete with elite teams.
Now the challenge is translating that success into a postseason run.
And with a few extra days of rest and preparation, Texas Tech hopes its March story is just getting started.