Softball
Softball to Play Texas A&M. The softball team will travel to College Station to take on No. 10 Texas A&M in a three game series starting today:
Texas Tech softball hits the road for a three game stand against No. 10 Texas A&M at the Aggie Softball Complex in College Station, Texas this weekend. The three game series will begin with a 6:30 p.m. game Friday followed with a 3 p.m. tilt Saturday. The teams will conclude the three game stand with a 12:30 p.m. matchup Sunday.
The Red Raiders will hit the road for their first true road series this weekend with a trip to College Station, Texas, for a matchup with the tenth-ranked Aggies. The three day weekend series will be the first meeting between the two teams since A&M’s departure from the Big 12 following the 2012 season.
Track & Field
NCAA Indoor Championships. The Texas Tech track & field teams will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama starting today:
Both days will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Live results can be found at FlashResults.com.
The Red Raiders will be represented in five events in Birmingham: the 60-meter hurdles (Chris Caldwell), 400-meter dash (Kyle Collins), high jump (Bradley Adkins & Trey Culver), the men’s 4×400 relay and the triple jump (Viershanie Latham).
LAJ’s Don Williams looks at Bradley Adkins and Chris Cadlwell, two seniors who will be competing.
Basketball
Should Still Make It. LAJ’s Krista Pirtle writes that despite the loss, Texas Tech should still make the NCAA Tournament:
According to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, the flat performance Wednesday night dropped the Red Raiders two spots to a nine seed.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports also dropped Texas Tech two spots to a nine seed.
When compared to other nine seeds projected by CBS Sports — Butler (21-9, 10-8 Big East), Pittsburgh (21-10, 9-9 ACC) and Saint Joseph’s (24-7, 13-5 Atlantic 10) — Texas Tech is the only team with a top-30 strength of schedule at fifth in the nation. Pitt, Butler and Saint Joe’s are 36, 66 and 76 respectively.
Furthermore, against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI, the Red Raiders are 5-9 on the season compared to Butler (4-7), Pitt (2-6) and Saint Joe’s (2-4).
Bubble Watch. ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan writes abotu the teams that are on the NCAA bubble and here’s what Brennan has to say about the Big 12:
Don’t fret, Texas Tech fans: The Red Raiders’ lock remains every bit as viable even after Wednesday’s shocking Big 12 tournament loss to TCU. Will it hurt their eventual seed? Sure. Is it enough to override Tech’s top-five strength of schedule, its top-20 nonconference mark, or wins over Texas, Iowa State, Baylor (at Baylor! by 18 points!) or Oklahoma? Not even close. Texas Tech, like the Big 12 bubble overall, is a done deal.
Football
Reagor Decommits. 2017 WR commit Jalen Reagor has decommitted from Texas Tech after being offered by everyone under the sun, including Alabama, Florida State and Oklahoma. I suppose I am a bit shocked at how he’s blown up in terms of his offer list. These sorts of things stink, but would rather it be now than on National Signing Day.
Senior Spotlight. ESPN’s Brandon Chatmon writes about a senior in the spotlight for each Big 12 team and chose WR Reginald Davis for Texas Tech:
He has steadily improved during his Texas Tech career, going from 15 receptions as a freshman to 29 as a sophomore and 38 as a junior. Davis has played a secondary role during his first three seasons, yet he has the potential to be a No. 1 receiver for the Red Raiders. For Davis to fulfill that potential, he will have to improve his consistency after having just one game of 100 receiving yards or more (against Arkansas in 2015) during his first three seasons.
Bigger Leadership Role. LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot writes that QB Patrick Mahomes has taken on a bigger leadership role for Texas Tech this year:
“We lose guys like (Jared) Kaster and DeAndre (Washington). And with (Webb) Davis going to Colorado, (Mahomes) is the guy now,” Kingsbury said. “He is the quarterback and he knows that now. He has shown that with how he works and how he talks to the team.”
Kingsbury said he believes Mahomes can build on his sophomore campaign that saw him throw for 4,653 yards and 36 touchdowns but was intercepted 15 times. He also ran for 456 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He has picked up where he has left off,” Kingsbury said. “He has a chance to be as good as he wants to be. It is all up to him and how hard he is willing to work over these next eight months. I think he can be a very special player this year.”
Miscellaneous. DMN’s Mike DuPont has three redshirt players that redshirted last year that should contribute this year . . . Land Grant Gauntlet’s Matt Turney ranks the Big 12 quarterbacks and has Patrick Mahomes at #2 . . .