NCAA Basketball: 25 best team rivalries heading into 2019-20 season
By Joey Loose
8. Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
This isn’t a historical rivalry game, why in the world is it on this list? Kansas and Texas Tech barely played each other before they both joined the Big 12 in 1996 and things have not been going the Red Raiders way since then. However, after their national title game run last season, Chris Beard has this Texas Tech team in an incredible position moving forward.
One title game run doesn’t erase history and Kansas boasts an impressive 35-6 record against Texas Tech. The Jayhawks won 16 games in a row against the Red Raiders before Chris Beard’s team delivering an upset win In Kansas in February 2018. Kansas has been ranked in the top 12 for its last 23 games against the Red Raiders, and many of them were not close contests at all.
The game that turned the tide and made this more of a rivalry was last season’s devastation at Lubbock, with the Red Raiders winning by 29 on the backs of Jarrett Culver and strong defensive play.
Back in 2008, Kansas had beaten the Red Raiders by 58 in a game, but finally, this program is turning things around. They also played a close game at Lubbock in 2018, both as top-10 teams, before Kansas snuck away with a two-point victory.
This is not a bitter rivalry with years of angst building up, but there’s going to be a lot of anticipation and excitement from both teams and fanbases this coming season.
The Red Raiders lose some major talent, but they’ve done it before and exceeded our expectations. The Jayhawks will look to reclaim the Big 12 title after their long streak of regular-season conference titles came to an end. When these two teams play in 2020, expect intensity from the beginning to end, from both fans and players alike.