The Texas Tech Men’s Basketball team kicked off the season starting 6-0. After their first loss first to Seton Hall, the Red Raiders shocked the nation to then go 14-1, the best starting record in Texas Tech in history. But keep in mind, at the start of the season Tech wasn’t ranked and they were not ranked until their sixth win of the season.

This past Saturday, the underdogs made history in Lubbock, Texas, as they had their fourth sellout of the season at the United Supermarkets Arena. College Gameday took a visit to Lubbock for the Kansas/Texas Tech game.

Students camped outside of the arena on Friday afternoon with anticipation for Gameday. There were special Texas Tech alumni appearances alongside the Gameday crew such as: 2-Time Super Bowl Champion, Danny Amendola, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Dolphins WR Jakeem Grant and Tech Football Coach Kliff Kingsbury. Coach Chris Beard said it was a great day for the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball program and that this won’t be the last time ESPN’s College GameDay comes to town.

Keenan Evans has lead the Tech Basketball program the entire season, averaging third in points in the Big 12. Last game against Oklahoma State he hurt his toe, but decided to play against Kansas on Saturday. Evans, leading the team all season, has been nominated for the Wooden award, among the top 20 players in the league. Texas Tech has won eight of nine games this season and 14 of 18 games overall when Evans eclipses the 20-point mark. The senior guard has amassed 1,437 career points which is 20th on the program’s all-time scoring list. His 322 career assists currently stand 12th in program history.

Zach Smith also played Saturday for 20 minutes after being out for the last few months.

With Zach Smith and Keenan Evans are not 100% because of injuries, Freshmen Zhaire Smith and Jarrett Culver stepped up and led the team with a combined 38 points against the JayHawks.

But the Red Raiders couldn’t stop Devonte Graham and the Jayhawks, as they fell 74-72 with their first loss at home. Although Chris Beard stated at the end of the game, “I think even though the scoreboard says we were two points short, I feel like in a lot of ways we did win today as we build the program.”

Texas Tech is 22-7 overall and 16-1 at home after their loss to Kansas. As the current third seed in the Big 12, Tech looks to finish out the regular season strong as they take on TCU at home next Saturday, March 3rd before the Big 12 Championship.

Head Coach Chris Beard has completely revamped the program. On February 26th, Texas Tech signed their first four star recruit, Khavon Moore from Macon, Georgia. Moore was a Top 40 recruit and committed to Tech after his visit last Saturday. Coach Beard has coached at many schools, one of them previously being Texas Tech. From 2001-2011, Beard coached under the legendary Bob Knight as an assistant then later as an Associate Head Coach. During his first stint at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders made 4 NCAA tournament appearances & the NIT Final Four.

The, Beard took head coaching jobs at Little Rock, Angelo State and McMurry. Coach Beard returned “home” to Texas Tech in 2016.

The underdogs have made their way into being ranked consecutively each week since their win against ranked No. 22 Nevada on December 5th. From breaking records of defeating six ranked teams this season to four sell out games to being ranked the highest (at No. 6) in Tech history, The Texas Tech Men’s Basketball team is making a name for themselves in the NCAA.

Beard looks to continue to build the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball program as they head into March Madness. Beard stated last Saturday, “Maybe in March, we will win some of these games when we’re on the other side of it.”