The Pathway for Texas Tech to Win the Big 12 and More
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Let's take a look at the pathways to Texas Tech winning a conference championship and more.
The No. 13-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) are in the race for the Big 12 regular season title. After they went on the road and upset then-No. 1 Arizona in overtime, the path to the Big 12 regular season title became more of a reality than a wish.
The Big 12 conference has each member playing an 18-game conference schedule this year. Texas Tech has 6 games remaining, and here is the roadmap for Grant McCasland and his team to capture the conference title in 2026.
Texas Tech likely needs to go 6-0 or 5-1 if the top three teams lose two games in their final stretch to have a realistic chance of leaping the teams technically ahead of them to be named the Big 12 regular season champions and secure the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament.
Feb 17: @ Arizona State: A must-win game for Kansas State
Feb 21: vs. Kansas State: Another must-win game for the Wildcats
Feb 24: vs. Cincinnati: The third must-win game for K-State
Feb 28: @ No. 6 Iowa State: The most important game to be conference champions
Mar 3: vs. TCU: A game at home that is a must-win
Mar 7: @ No. 23 BYU: The second most important game for the Wildcats
As of 2/16, Houston (11-2) and Arizona (10-2) only have two conference losses, and Iowa State (10-3) and Kansas (9-3) all have realistic chances of winning the conference, along with Texas Tech. The game in Ames against the Cyclone is the biggest hurdle and obstacle in the way of the Red Raiders winning the conference regular-season title. Winning that game not only hands a loss to a team ahead of the Red Raiders in the conference standings, but it also secures a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker against Iowa State.
Even if Texas Tech wins out and finishes 15-3 in Big 12 play by winning their last six scheduled regular-season games, they need some teams to lose at least one game. For example, Houston needs to lose at least twice or at least one conference game if the Red Raiders are to be co-champions of the Big 12, as they currently lead the conference with an 11-2 record. Arizona also needs to lose at least one more game, but since the Red Raiders already defeated them, Texas Tech holds the tiebreaker with them. If the Red Raiders defeat Iowa State on the road, which will not be an effortless task later this month, the Cyclones would have four losses, and they would not be able to leapfrog Texas Tech in the conference standings. If the Red Raiders were to win out, then Iowa State would be behind them in the Big 12 standings. Kansas has the tiebreaker over Texas Tech, but the Jayhawks also need to win their remaining games, as they currently have three conference losses.
The Big 12 conference title is shared if teams are tied with the same conference record, but for seeding in the Big 12 conference, the Red Raiders are in a good position if they win their six remaining scheduled games. They already have victories against Houston and Arizona, who are also vying for the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, which benefits the Red Raiders. In a multi-team tiebreaker, head-to-head records against the other tied teams are the first criterion for conference seeding.
If Texas Tech were to win its final six games, which include difficult road tests at Iowa State and BYU, they would most likely earn a share of the Big 12 Regular Season Title. Social media is already buzzing as college basketball fans will watch with anticipation to see who wins the conference title
The Big 12 standings with a handful of weeks to play. The rest of the season is going to be EPIC. pic.twitter.com/e7F12oOF9G
— Chris Williams (@ChrisMWilliams) February 17, 2026
Updated Big 12 standings:
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) February 17, 2026
Every team has at least two conference losses. pic.twitter.com/gxG2wtjPSh
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Ryan Kay is a journalist who graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and is passionate about covering college sports and enjoys writing features and articles covering various collegiate teams. He has worked as an editor at Go Joe Bruin and has been a contributor for Longhorns Wire and Busting Brackets. He is a contributor for Texas Tech On SI.