1. Tech baseball secures first sweep of the year
The Red Raiders got its first season sweep of the year against Kent State over the weekend. They won 8-1 in the opening game, 7-5 in the second and 10-7 to finalize the sweep. Ty Coleman bolstered the Tech offense, hitting a combined 5-9 with a pair of doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and four total runs scored including a vital go-ahead hit. The Red Raiders are now 5-2 on the season and 4-0 at Dan Law.
2. Men’s, Women’s basketball attendance among highest in country
Both the Tech basketball men's and women’s programs set season highs in attendance after filling up games in the month of February. The Lady Raiders are among the highest in the conference in terms of attendance while the men’s side consistently nears capacity fan count. There is only 1 other school to have top 15 attendance in both programs nationwide.
3. Williams hits the 2k-point mark
Bryson Williams hit the 2,000-point mark in Texas Tech’s rout of Oklahoma. The senior forward has exceeded expectations for Tech basketball and currently leads the team in points per game with 13.9 and 3-point percentage, making 44% of his threes to this point in the season.
4. Tech track and field nearly wins Big 12 Title
Tech’s track and field has remained ranked in the top-10 nationally all year, and the program’s first all-around conference test was unveiled at the Big 12 Championships over the weekend. They stayed true to their rankings and ultimately placed second overall on both sides with a host of first-place finishes. Texas took the crown for the second-straight year, but Tech was on their tail the entire meet and oftentimes were both alone, battling at the top.
5. Tech women’s golf notches lowest round in school history
The newly ranked No. 25 Tech women’s golf squad lacked complacency at the ICON Invitational, sinking 20 birdies on the path to their lowest 18-hole in school history. On the individual side, Amy Taylor matched the team’s efforts with a 14-under 202 that tied the program high set last Spring. Tech finished fourth overall while Taylor finished as a runner-up.
6. Tech basketball faces tough loss, but at the right time
The Red Raiders lost against the Horned Frogs over the weekend in a tight-knit, but frustrating game. The No. 9-ranked Tech squad traded the lead seven times in the last four minutes with TCU, and ultimately fell to a red-hot Mike Miles who scored his Big 12 season high in points against Tech. However, the Red Raiders’ loss came in the mix of a historic day of losses, which saw seven top-10 teams lose: No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 Kansas, No. 6 Kentucky and No. 9 Tech. There might not be much movement in the rankings.
7. Records shattered, abundance of top finishes at Big 12 track meet
The Red Raiders were quick to jump on the record book at the Big 12 Championships over the weekend. Rosemary Chukwuma broke the school record in the 60m final, Jacolby Shelton had the most points of any competitor at the meet on the male side, Vashaun Vascianna took the 60m hurdles crown for Tech, Gary Haasbroek won the heptathlon event, Jalen Seals beat last year’s champion to win the long jump, Moad Zahafi beat the next-fastest runner in the 1000m by more than 2 seconds for the crown and Ruta Lasmane won the triple jump championship to round out the heaping Tech track and field team’s individual successes.
8. Tech looks to go out with a bang Monday
Tech basketball has seemingly made a pattern of getting revenge on opponents they played poorly against earlier in the season. Statistically, both the worst and best games of Tech’s season have come against the Sooners, the worst in the game-1 loss, and the best in the at-home, game-2 blowout victory. The second worst loss came on the road to K-State, and now the Red Raiders will be able to welcome them to Lubbock in a revenge game, on senior night, for the last home game of conference play.
9. McClung once again goes viral for dunk, prompts dunk contest requests
The walking highlight reel Mac McClung decided to set social media ablaze one more time with an insane dunk inside the Lakers’ practice facility. The 6’2 guard seemingly did a reverse windmill dunk and never looked at the basket until it went in. The youngsters’ hopes are still alive, and with the Lakers playing their worst basketball of the season and in desperate need of some guard energy, McClung could be working toward a call-up soon.
10. One of few concerns for the Red Raider defense
Tech’s defense, as we all know, is elite at all levels. However, one trend I have noticed is their susceptibility to the short guards that can get the 3 ball up. Oklahoma’s Gibson scored a career-high 30 in a win against Tech, Mike Miles had his conference season-high 26 against Tech and the Red Raiders even struggled with Baylor’s Akinjo until some adjusting took place. I think those shifty little guards that can get where they need to cause some problems for the pre-rotating Tech defense, and although they seldom let a player erupt twice in Big 12 play, you only get one chance in March. Also, the possibility of playing a mid-major or other smaller schools with a guard like these is very likely, but as always, March is a different animal, and I’m just being nitpicky about an already great defense.
