Purdue Basketball: Who Are The Texas Tech Red Raiders?

We have made it to the Sweet 16.

The time is (kind of) set - 10 PM Friday Night, the opponent: Texas Tech Red Raiders.

So, similar to what I did with Cal State Fullerton, I am just going to give you a brief history of their school and basketball program.

School: Texas Tech

Nickname: Red Raiders

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Mascot: Masked Rider, Raider Red

Coach: Chris Beard - Sound familiar? It should, Beard was the head coach of the Arkansas Little Rock team that upset us a few years go in the 5-12 match up. This is officially a revenge game for our Boilermakers.

Previous Head Coaches: Bob Knight, Pat Knight, Billy Gillispie, Tubby Smith

History: The Red Raiders have a total of 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, this being the first one since 2016. This is their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2005. Texas Tech has never reached it further than the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech has never won a conference championship in the Big 12 - but that is hard to do with Bill Self and Kansas being in the conference. This ties their highest seeding in the NCAA tournament, they were also a 3 seed in the 1996 tournament, where they were defeated by 2 seed Georgetown.

Athletic National Championships: 1993 National Championship in Women’s Basketball, Men’s Polo in 2006, Men’s Rodeo in 1956, Women’s Rodeo in 2012.

Texas Tech is an imposing defensive team that we will see this Friday night. While they struggle on offense some days, their athleticism, defensive ability and their ability to get most of the 50/50 balls, they will be a tough match up for us.

Look for the preview of the game later this week. Boiler Up.