Texas Basketball: Longhorns can solidify tourney resume vs. Tech

Can the Texas Tech Red Raiders survive yet another huge upset bid from the Texas basketball program come the morning of Feb. 29?

On Feb. 29, the Texas basketball program will have about their most crucial game to date as they hit the road to Lubbock to take on head coach Chris Beard and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

In what was about the most up and down run throughout Big 12 play possible this year for the Texas Longhorns basketball program, Texas Tech could extend their winning streak to four games this weekend. Texas Tech got the best of head coach Shaka Smart and the Longhorns when the two teams met the first time around this season.

But Texas Tech has just one more win so far this season compared to the Longhorns. Texas Tech enters this game with a record of 18-10 (9-6 Big 12). Meanwhile Texas comes in with a record of 17-11 (7-8 Big 12). Somehow with how poor the Longhorns played throughout much of their Big 12 slate and their below .500 record they still sit fourth in the conference standings.

Texas Tech sits one spot above the Longhorns in the Big 12 standings. Texas could actually climb into the top three in the conference standings if they win two or three to round out the regular season. After taking on the Red Raiders, Texas gets the two Oklahoma schools ahead of the Big 12 Tournament.

Texas is coming off a win over the No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers by the final score of 67-57 at home at the Frank Erwin Center on Feb. 24. That win helped Smart’s case in terms of job security and gave Texas a boost to get back into the running for a spot on Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech came away with a tough 65-51 loss at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners in their last game. Prior to falling short to the Sooners, Texas Tech had won five of their last six games. They still remained ranked at No. 22 in the country this week.

According to the ESPN College Basketball Power Index, Texas Tech holds just over an 85 percent chance to win this game on Saturday in the late morning/early afternoon. The tip-off time is set for 11 a.m. CT, as it is one of the more pivotal major conference games of the Saturday slate in college hoops this weekend.

The national spotlight clearly isn’t favoring the Longhorns this time around. Texas will have to face that raucous Lubbock crowd in what is one of the final home games of the season for the Red Raiders.

Texas needs a win to get one step closer to potentially nabbing 20 on the season. It would also help them get a more favorable spot in the Big 12 Tournament. Most of all, this would give the Longhorns their second straight top 25 win and get them one step closer to an NCAA Tournament bid.