The Texas Tech Red Raiders compete in NCAA Men’s Basketball as a part of the Big 12 Conference. Baylor, Kansas, and Oklahoma State are some of their notable opponents from the conference. They were founded in 1925.
In 1936, Collier Parrish, a sports editor of the Lubbock Morning Avalanche, gave them the name Red Raiders because of their red uniforms and coast-to-coast schedule.
Their current logo is a letter ‘T’, which is overlapped by a smaller letter ‘T’. Both letters are red, showing off the team colors. Since 2000, the logo is an embossed and 3D version. Earlier, when it was launched in 1963, it was two-dimensional.
| Founded | 1925 |
| Conference | Big 12 Conference |
| Athletic Director | Kirby Hocutt |
| Head Coach | Chris Beard |
| Arena | United Supermarkets Arena |
| Championships (0) | – |
| Conference Tournament Titles (5) | 1976, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1996 |
| Conference Regular Season Titles (12) | 1933, 1934, 1935, 1954, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1973, 1985, 1995, 1996, 2019 |
| Website | https://texastech.com/sports/mens-basketball |
The current coach of the Red Raiders is Chris Beard. The 47-year-old was appointed in 2016 and had previously served as an assistant for a decade from 2001 to 2011.
Beard led the Red Raiders to their first Elite Eight appearance in 2018, and in the next season, he followed it up by taking them to their first National Final appearance in 2019 but narrowly lost to Virginia in overtime. His valiant effort saw him being named the AP National Coach of the Year.
The current athletic director of the Red Raiders is Kirby Hocutt. He joined in 2011, after stints with Ohio and Miami.
Hocutt was instrumental in the hiring of head coach Chris Beard. He was awarded the Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year in 2018. After receiving an extension last year, he is now one of the top 10 highest paid athletic directors in the country.
The Red Raiders had never gone beyond the Sweet Sixteen until Chris Beard arrived. He led them to their two best regular-season performances with 27 and 31 win seasons in 2018 and 2019.
The Red Raiders reached their first March Madness Final in 2019 after beating the Michigan Wolverines, but they ended up losing to Virginia in a close encounter.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are yet to win an NCAA title.
Many Texas Tech alumni have made it to the NBA, but none of them have had a major impact so far. Among the most notable names are Geoff Huston, Jarrett Culver, and Tony Battie.
The sixth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Culver, was part of the team that reached the NCAA Final. He was also named the Big 12 Player of the Year.
The other two former Red Raiders in the NBA currently are Matt Mooney and Zhaire Smith.
The Red Raiders have two mascots. The live one is called the Masked Raider, who is the oldest mascot in the university’s history. It is a masked rider who is dressed completely in black, on a horse.
The costumed version is called the Raider Red who was introduced in the 1970s after live mascots were restricted. He has an iconic red beard and also carries a gun with him. He won the Capital One 2012 National Mascot of the Year in 2012.
The team colors of the Texas Tech Red Raiders are red and black.
The Red Raiders roster for the 2020-21 season has 13 players.
| Position | Jersey Number | Name | Height | Weight |
| G | 0 | Mac McClung | 6-2 | 185 |
| G | 1 | Terrence Shannon, Jr. | 6-6 | 210 |
| G | 2 | Jamarius Burton | 6-4 | 205 |
| G | 3 | Clarence Nadolny | 6-3 | 190 |
| G | 5 | Micah Peavy | 6-7 | 215 |
| F | 10 | Tyreek Smith | 6-7 | 220 |
| G | 11 | Kyler Edwards | 6-4 | 195 |
| F | 14 | Marcus Santos-Silva | 6-7 | 245 |
| G | 15 | Kevin McCullar | 6-6 | 205 |
| G | 21 | Avery Benson | 6-4 | 195 |
| G | 23 | Chibuzo Agbo | 6-7 | 215 |
| G | 25 | Nimari Burnett | 6-4 | 195 |
| F | 50 | Vladislav Goldin | 7-1 | 240 |
The Texas Tech Red Raiders started the 2020-21 season with a 101-58 win against the Northwestern State Demons. They have a 27-game regular season that ends with an away game against rivals Texas on February 27. They currently have a 4-1 record.
The full schedule is available on the college website.
Texas Tech Red Raiders on Twitter: @TexasTechMBB
Texas Tech Red Raiders on Instagram: @texastechmbb