AP top 25: School history has been made

Back in 1996, Texas Tech was the seventh ranked team in the nation. They had just clinched the last ever Southwest Conference championship and reeled off 18 straight wins to earn the highest ranking in program history. It didn’t help that the league only sent one other team to the NCAA tournament that year, but Tech still capped the year off with a trip to the Sweet 16.

This Tech team has been compared to that one all season ever since the massive upset in Lawrence. Even though this team has already surpassed the loss total of that year, they are in a demonstrably tougher conference that may send a record 80% of it’s teams to the NCAA tournament. Tech added another notch that may make this the greatest team ever as they achieved the highest ranking in program history. Finally getting voted as the sixth best team in the country adds another poll record for this team.

• Most weeks ranked: 12
• Most weeks ranked in the top 10: 6
• Highest ranking ever: 6th

The only records left for this team to accomplish is the highest NCAA tournament seed ever at three, and making it past the Sweet 16. Five Red Raiders teams have made it that far, but none has been able to win it. We know this team is a team known to break records, let’s hope they keep this up.

1. Virginia, 24-2 (-)
2. Michigan State, 26-3 (-)
3. Villanova, 24-3 (-)
4. Xavier, 24-4 (-)
5. Duke, 22-5 (+7)
6. Texas Tech, 22- (+1)
7. Gonzaga*, 25-4 (+3)
8. Kansas, 21-6 (+5)
9. Purdue, 24-5 (-3)
10. North Carolina, 21-7 (+4)
11. Cincinnati, 23-4 (-6)
12. Auburn, 23-4 (-2)
13. Wichita State, 21-5 (+6)
14. Arizona, 21-6 (+3)
15. Clemson, 20-6 (-4)
16. Ohio State, 22-7 (-8)
17. Michigan, 22-7 (+5)
18. Rhode Island, 21-4 (-2)
19. Tennessee, 19-7 (-1)
20. Nevada, 23-5 (+4)
21. West Virginia, 19-8 (-1)
22. Saint Mary’s, 25-4 (-7)
23. Houston, 21-5 (NR)
24. Middle Tennessee, 22-5 (NR)
25. Florida State, 19-8 (NR)

*Gonzaga is actually tied for 6th