CBS Sports: Texas Tech's loaded schedule highlights NCAA Tournament ambitions
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Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, Texas Tech is facing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in all of college basketball. But with the Red Raiders being viewed as one of the early favorites to win the NCAA Championship, head coach Grant McCasland is perfectly fine with taking on the best that college basketball has to offer. In fact, the strength of the non-conference schedule could signal McCasland's intentions for the Red Raiders by the time tournament season rolls around.
Here's a quick look at the non-conference slate for Texas Tech:
- Nov. 11: at Illinois
- Nov 20-21 (Baha Mar Championship): vs Wake Forest, vs Memphis/Purdue
- Dec. 7: vs LSU (Dickies Arena)
- Dec. 13: vs Arkansas (American Airlines Arena)
- Dec. 20: vs Duke (Madison Square Garden)
During his recent podcast, CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein said that the tough non-conference slate for Texas Tech is all about the NCAA Tournament.
"Grant McCasland is scheduling right now like somebody who is aiming to be a very high seed in the NCAA tournament."
Texas Tech is scheduling like a team that expects to be a very high seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/jLorafB7Dk
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 25, 2025
After a run to the Elite 8 last season, McCasland wants his Red Raider squad to enter March as a battle-tested unit. Along with the difficulties of navigating the Big 12 schedule, the loaded non-conference schedule will serve as a measuring stick for how Texas Tech stacks up against some of the nation's top programs.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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