The Baylor Bears remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to the latest Associated Press poll. That rating will likely change within the next survey. On January 11, No. 19 Texas Tech ended Baylor’s 22-game win streak that spanned into last season with a 65-62 victory. Despite the absence of their leading scorer, Terrence Shannon, the Red Raiders completed the surprising upset on the road in Waco.
Baylor (15-1) had lost just once at home in the past three seasons. The Bears were the last unbeaten team left in the nation after No. 5 USC lost on the road to Stanford on January 11.
The Red Raiders trailed much of the game, at one point being down 15 points late in the first half. That was when things started going in favor of Tech, as Baylor would not score again before halftime. Tech chipped away at the lead, trailing 31-26 at the half.
The Red Raiders opened the second half on a 7-1 run to tie the game and took their first lead at 47-46 with 9:52 left. Their largest lead came at 59-52, with 2:39 left. They held on for the Red Raider’s second straight win over a top-ten opponent.
On January 8, Texas Tech defeated then-No. 6 Kansas 75-67 at home also without Shannon. Kansas had averaged 84.3 points per game, but the Red Raiders defense clamped down, forcing Kansas into 17 turnovers. After their loss, Kansas (13-2) dropped to No. 9 in rank.
Texas Tech (13-3) followed up the victory over Baylor with a blowout 78-57 win over Oklahoma State (8-7) on Thursday night to cap their impressive week.
Tech has, now, won three Big 12 games after narrowly losing 51-47 in the conference opener on the road to Iowa State on January 5. The Red Raiders only had seven players available in that game due to COVID-19 protocols and injuries.
Next, Texas Tech will go on the road to play Kansas State (8-7) on Saturday, followed by the opportunity to avenge their lone conference loss at home against now-No. 15 Iowa State (13-3) on January 18.
Baylor will look to begin a new win streak when they host Oklahoma State on Saturday, followed by a January 18 road trip to play against West Virginia (13-2).
The second highest-ranked Texas team remains the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Houston (14-2) moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 11 following a 76-66 home conference win over Wichita State. Next, Houston will continue their AAC schedule by going on the road to face Tulsa on Saturday before playing a home game against South Florida on January 18.
The Texas Longhorns dropped to No. 21 in the latest poll after being No. 14 last week. The drop was due to a 64-51 upset loss on the road to Oklahoma State on Saturday. The loss snapped a six-game stream of victories for the Longhorns. Texas never once held the lead in the game. The Longhorns came closest to leading when they trailed 13-12 with 8:50 remaining in the first half.
Texas followed up the loss with arguably their best performance of the season in a 66-52 victory at home over their bitter rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas (13-3) led by double-digits the entire second half. The 14-point margin of victory is the largest the Longhorns have had over the Sooners since 2011. The 52 points Oklahoma scored is their lowest scoring output all season.
The Longhorns’ next game will be a tough matchup on the road against No. 15 Iowa State. They will follow that game with a home matchup against Kansas State on January 18.
Oklahoma (12-4) was listed as the first team outside of the AP’s top 25 rankings, as they were coming off a 79-66 home win over then-No.11 Iowa State. That was their third win over a team ranked inside the top 15 this season.
Next, Oklahoma will go on the road to play TCU (11-2) on Saturday before hosting No. 9 Kansas on January 18.
