LUBBOCK, TX – No. 3 seed Texas Tech opens its 2025 NCAA Tournament campaign with a West Region First Round matchup against No. 14 UNC Wilmington on Thursday at 9:10 p.m. at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The game will be broadcast on truTV, and radio coverage will be available via Texas Tech Sports Network (Double T 97.3) and SiriusXM channel 211.
Game Information
- Matchup: No. 3 Texas Tech (25-8) vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington (27-7)
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
- Venue: INTRUST Bank Arena
- Tipoff: 9:10 p.m., Thursday, March 20
- TV: truTV (Tom McCarthy, Steve Smith, Debbie Antonelli, AJ Ross)
- Radio: Texas Tech Sports Network (Geoff Haxton, Chris Level) | Westwood One (Ted Emrich, Casey Jacobson, SiriusXM 211)
The Red Raiders (25-8) enter the tournament ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll after finishing second in the Big 12 standings with a 15-5 conference record, setting a program record for total league wins and road victories (8). Tech has won seven of its last 10 games heading into the tournament and matches its highest seeding in program history.
Head coach Grant McCasland has led Texas Tech to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons and is making his third career appearance in the national tournament. The Red Raiders have nine players with NCAA Tournament experience, combining for 21 total tournament games played:
- Kerwin Walton (North Carolina, 2021-22; Texas Tech, 2024)
- Chance McMillian (Grand Canyon, 2021, 2023; Texas Tech, 2024)
- Darrion Williams (Nevada, 2023; Texas Tech, 2024)
- Jack Francis (Texas Tech, 2024)
- Eemeli Yalaho (Texas Tech, 2024)
- JT Toppin (New Mexico, 2024)
- Kevin Overton (Drake, 2024)
- Elijah Hawkins (Howard, 2023)
- Federiko Federiko (Pitt, 2023)
JT Toppin leads the Red Raiders with 18.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, collecting 15 double-doubles this season while earning All-America honors, Big 12 Player of the Year, and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
Darrion Williams (14.3 ppg, All-Big 12 First Team) and Chance McMillian (14.2 ppg, All-Big 12 Second Team) provide scoring depth.
Christian Anderson (10.8 ppg) was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team.
Elijah Hawkins ranks sixth nationally with a 3.23 assist-to-turnover ratio (197 assists – 61 turnovers) and 13th in the country with 6.4 assists per game. He is 15 assists away from matching Tech’s single-season record.
Toppin notched 26 points and 10 rebounds in Texas Tech’s Big 12 quarterfinal win over Baylor, but his streak of three straight double-doubles with 25+ points ended in the Big 12 semifinal loss to Arizona.
The UNC Wilmington Seahawks (27-7) earned their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship. They went 14-4 in conference play before defeating Hampton, College of Charleston, and Delaware in the postseason tournament.
Donovan Newby leads the Seahawks in scoring with 14.6 points per game and has 118 assists. He ranks 18th nationally with an 89.1% free-throw percentage (139-for-156). Khamari McGriff adds 11.6 points per game while shooting 66.1% from the field.
UNC Wilmington last faced a Big 12 opponent on Novemer 19, falling 84-66 at Kansas.
This marks Texas Tech’s 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Red Raiders hold a 19-21 all-time record. The program’s tournament history includes:
- 2019 National Finalist
- 2018 Elite Eight
- 2022 Sweet 16
- 2023 First Round exit (as a No. 6 seed to NC State, 80-67)
Texas Tech and UNC Wilmington have met once before, with the Red Raiders earning an 85-76 win on Nov. 22, 2002, during Bob Knight’s second season in Lubbock.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: