Guns Up Nation Crew Selection Sunday Special!

Well, it’s taken almost two years but it’s almost NCAA Tournament time again! The Guns Up Nation Staff have made their predictions as to where the Red Raiders will be selected on Selection Sunday!

Jacob Harris – @jacobharris_55

6-Seed

The Red Raiders have one of the most intriguing resumes in recent memory, only losing to highly-ranked teams. They do have ten losses on the season, most were incredibly close, including a one-point loss to Texas just the other night. The selection committee has ranked teams with more good losses over teams that have more meaningless wins. 

Andrew McCleary – @cfp4_us

5-Seed

Texas Tech has basically been a “chalk” team all year. They have beat any team ranked worse than their current ranking of #20. All of the losses suffered by the Red Raiders have been to teams not just ranked in the current top 25, but all of them currently hold rankings better than Texas Tech. The strength of the Big 12 will push Coach Beard’s club to the 5 line, even with 10 losses.

Trent Wycoff – @flaskedwriter

6-seed

I wish I could believe that the selection committee watched enough Tech games to understand how close this team is to having half as many losses as it does, but that doesn’t show up on paper, so Tech is unlikely to fare better than a six seed. The 12/5 games have been ripe for March upsets, so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Tech is far more capable than it will be seeded, and here’s hoping that they prove it.

Keith Donaghe – @KeithDonaghe

6/7 seed

The Red Raiders were a projected 5 seed before the loss to UT on Thursday. If Texas loses in tonight’s Big 12 championship, Texas Tech would fall to a 7 seed but if they win TTU will probably be a 6 seed. I think a lot of members of the committee will see 10 losses and struggle to put us any higher than a 6 regardless of how elite all of those teams they lost to are and the margin of defeat.

Zach Schuhmann – @Zach_Schuhmann

6 seed

I have Texas Tech as a borderline 5 or 6 seed, but because of their last two losses, a 15 point loss to Baylor and a first-round exit of the Big 12 tournament to Texas, I have to drop them to the 6 line. While recent success is not a determining factor in tournament seeding, it is a big reason why we see a lot of late risers and fallers this time of year in seeding for the NCAA tournament. The same thing that is benefitting teams like Oklahoma State and Texas is hurting teams like Texas Tech and Oklahoma. As for why Tech doesn’t fall lower is because they rank favorably in all of the top metrics that the committee looks at. The Red Raiders are ranked 16th in the Haslametrics, 18th in the Net rankings, and 23rd in Kenpom. Texas Tech will ride these metrics to a 6 seed, despite having accumulated 10 losses on the year.

Conclusion:

Most of our guys think the Red Raiders will get anywhere between a five and seven seed. Be sure to join the Guns Up Nation Podcast for the Selection Sunday Special featuring Red Raider Great Justin Gray!