LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas Tech’s basketball teams are putting on their dancing shoes as they get ready for the first round of postseason action. Both groups went through their fair share of ups and downs to get here.
For the men’s team, most of the regular season lived up to recent success, as the Red Raiders are back in the tournament for the eighth time since 2016. The biggest strength for them is their resume, which includes wins over four teams ranked in the top 10 of the final AP poll rankings.
Things took a turn when JT Toppin went down with a torn ACL on Feb. 17. The Red Raiders have a 3-3 record since, including a 22-point loss in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
“We’re starting to really lose I think the edge of just competing and playing without trying not to make a mistake,” men’s coach Grant McCasland said after the tournament loss. “I mean trying to just play the game and do right instead of compete to win.”
Players are taking notice of the recent team dynamic ahead of their trip to Tampa for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We got to be more competitive down the stretch and we got to be better at taking punches,” Donovan Atwell said. “There’s going to be times in the game where you have ups and downs, so we just got to respond better.”
For the Lady Raiders, this season is reminding fans of the good old days. They went 25-7 in the regular season, the most wins in one campaign since 2003-2004. The team also returned to the polls this season for the first time since 2013.
Coach Krista Gerlich stopped by the KCBD studios in December to discuss why being ranked at that time meant so much to Lubbock.
“We want to keep pursuing, we want to do better, but at the same time, I think it’s great for our girls to get that recognition and for our fanbase to get that recognition again,” Gerlich said. “For them to be able to cheer for a team that used to stay in the top 25 all the time and it’s been a long time since we’ve been there. We just want to keep climbing.”
The Lady Raiders went on to secure four wins over top 25 teams, but ultimately fell in the second round of the Big 12 Women’s Tournament. It’s a result that has the team looking towards the bigger picture.
“I know it’s going to take a little while to get over that, but we have to,” Gerlich said. “We have to let it go, we have to gather together and decide as a team we really want to play together.”
Both teams will begin their tournament journeys on Friday, with the Red Raiders taking on No. 12-seed Akron at 11:40 a.m. while the Lady Raiders face No. 10-seed Villanova at 7:30 p.m.
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