Texas Tech opens the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed, carrying national respect, elite guard play and enough résumé juice to scare any bracket.
Texas Tech basketball is heading into March Madness with a number next to its name, a brutal resume, and just enough edge to make people nervous.
The Red Raiders landed as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, where they’ll open against Akron on Friday in Tampa.
This team enters the tournament ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25, No. 19 in the Coaches Poll, No. 19 in the NET, and No. 20 in KenPom.
More importantly, Texas Tech has now stretched its AP Top 25 streak to 28 straight appearances, the longest run in program history.
And yet, this team still feels like one of the more fascinating stories in the bracket.
Why? Because Texas Tech has spent the last few weeks learning how to survive without JT Toppin, and that’s no small adjustment. Before his season-ending injury, Toppin was stuffing every major stat sheet in America, averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and piling up 16 double-doubles.
At the time he went down, he had already made 234 field goals, the most in the country. Losing that kind of production should wreck a team. Someone forgot to mention that to Grant McCasland's Red Raiders.
Instead, the Red Raiders have leaned harder into the brilliance of Christian Anderson, who has turned himself into one of the most dangerous guards in college basketball.
Anderson leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally in assists at 7.6 per game, while also scoring 18.9 points per game. He’s posted eight double-doubles, set a new school single-season mark with 236 assists, and knocked down 105 3-pointers.
Then there’s Donovan Atwell, who has become one of the cleanest shooters in the country. He’s averaging 13.5 points per game, has drilled 124 3s, and is shooting a ridiculous 45.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Put Anderson and Atwell together, and Texas Tech has the most productive 3-point shooting tandem in the nation with 229 made threes combined.
Add in LeJuan Watts at 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, plus Jaylen Petty giving Tech 9.5 points and 3.9 boards, and this roster still has enough firepower to make another run.
And don’t forget the resume. Texas Tech owns wins over Duke, Houston, Arizona, and Iowa State. This group has beaten elite teams on neutral courts, at home, and on the road.
So yes, Akron is dangerous. Yes, the 5-12 matchup is always weird.
But Texas Tech didn’t spend this season collecting top-10 wins and living in the rankings just to show up and act grateful.
The Red Raiders are tested, they’re tough, and if the shots fall, they’re still built to ruin somebody else’s March.