No more waiting. For the first time since 1996, Texas Tech basketball is a conference champion again.
With the Red Raiders' 80-73 win at Iowa State, No. 8 Texas Tech clinched a share of the conference title with Kansas State. It's the program's first conference crown since 1996, when it was in the Southwest Conference.
H🏆SŦORY
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB)
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Going into the Big 12 tournament, the Red Raiders are 26-5 overall and 14-4 in the Big 12. K-State, which beat Oklahoma on Saturday, tied for the title.
Texas Tech's historic season, coming off an Elite Eight appearance last year, comes in conjunction with Kansas' NCAA-record run of consecutive Big 12 titles ending. The Jayhawks had won or shared 14 consecutive Big 12 titles, a streak that stretched back to 2004.
That year, Usher ruled the charts with "Yeah!" Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the freshly crowned Best Picture Oscar winner in an 11-for-11 sweep.
The state of the Big 12 basketball title race
Texas Tech
Record: 26-5 overall, 14-4 Big 12
Lost in the whirlwind of a Kansas-or-Kansas State battle was the fact that Texas Tech is right there, too. Now they're more than "just there" after dismantling Kansas 91-62 and continuing to win.
With Saturday's victory at Iowa State, Texas Tech stretched its winning streak to nine games. The Red Raiders haven't lost since Feb. 2 at Kansas.
Against the Cyclones, Jarrett Culver scored 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting. Davide Moretti added 20 points, making four 3-pointers.
Kansas State
Record: 24-7 overall, 14-4 Big 12
K-State's loss at KU on Feb. 25 was more about the Jayhawks remaining alive in the race than dooming the Wildcats' title chances. Kansas' 64-49 win meant the Wildcats had a little more pressure on themselves.
The good news? Since then, K-State beat Baylor and TCU to maintain its spot in a first-place tie — and Kansas lost to Oklahoma to end the title streak. With the Wildcats defeating OU on Saturday, K-State earned a shared title with the Red Raiders.
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