The following is a press release from Texas Tech Athletics
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech remains one of only nine teams in the nation still unbeaten and is up two spots to No. 11 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Along with the two national polls, the Red Raiders (8-0) moved up one spot to No. 4 in the NCAA NET Rankings and to No. 9 in the ESPN Power Rankings after spending the past two weeks at No. 10. Statistically, TTU leads the nation by limiting opponents to only 33.7 percent shooting and is second in scoring defense (52.5) behind only Virginia which is at 51.2 points allowed per game. The team is also fifth nationally with a 24.3 margin of victory, seventh in 3-point defense (25.6%) and eighth with a plus-6 turnover margin advantage.
Texas Tech is in both national polls for the third straight week after beginning unranked in the preseason poll through the third week of the season. The team entered the polls for the first time this season at No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Top 25 in the fourth poll before moving up to No. 13 in both last week. Kansas (8-0) moved up to the top-ranked team in the nation in both polls this week, while Duke (9-1), Tennessee (7-1), Gonzaga (9-1) and Michigan (10-0) make up the AP top-five. The USA Today poll has KU, Duke, Virginia (9-0), Tennessee and Michigan as its top-five.
The Red Raiders are off to the best start since beginning the 2009-10 season with a 9-0 record and are 8-0 for only the third time in program history. TTU, which has won all eight of its games by double digits this season, began the 1929-30 season with a 12-0 record for the best start in school history in what was the fifth year of play for the program.
Texas Tech is coming off 65-47 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in its only game last week and will now host two games this week. The Red Raiders will begin the week against Northwestern State (2-7) at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the United Supermarkets Arena before hosting Abilene Christian (9-1) at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. The “Throwback Game” on Saturday against ACU is the final basketball game ever in the Coliseum which saw its first game ever on Dec. 3, 1956 against Kansas State.