Red Raiders vs Cyclones: Big Twelve Showdown

0:00On March 11, Texas Techman's basketball faces Iowa State in the big 12 tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at 11.30am Central Time. On ESPN, the Red Raiders earned this spot after a strong regular season, including an 82-73 upset win over the then-Number 4 ranked. Cyclones back in late February, that victory sparked a 3-0 streak for Tech. Even after losing Junior Forward, JT Toppen to a season ending injury. The team climbed 6 spots to number 10 in the AP poll, showing they could adjust without their star big man by leaning on guard play and better. Rebounding. Players like sophomore Gar Christian Anderson have stayed confident, saying the squad remains top tier with or without Toppen, thanks to Salon. Coaching and team grit. Still, Tech went 3-2 in their final 5 regular season games, stumbling with back-to-back losses to unranked TCU and BYU. Meanwhile, Iowa State looked sharp after a massive 91-42 blowout over Arizona State on Wednesday, the biggest margin in big 12.

1:06Tournament history. That keeps their key starters fresh, despite playing an extra game. Last year, Tech reached the NCAA Elite 8 as a number 3 seed, so they're aiming to avoid a quick exit here and push deep into March madness. Without Toppen.