The non-conference schedule for the 99th season of Texas Tech basketball has officially been announced and has the Red Raiders beginning the year on November 8 against Texas A&M-Commerce at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Tech is slated to play 13 non-conference games, including eight at home, one away game and four neutral-court contests that includes three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Television designations and game times will be announced when available. The Big 12 schedule will be announced at a later date.
Tech's non-conference schedule in head coach Grant McCasland's first season includes: Texas A&M-Commerce (Nov. 8), San Jose State (Nov. 12), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Nov. 16), three games at Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 22-24), at Butler (Nov. 30), Omaha (Dec. 6), Oral Roberts (Dec. 12), vs. Vanderbilt in Fort Worth (Dec. 16), UTA (Dec. 21), Sam Houston (Dec. 28), and North Alabama (Jan. 1, 2024).
November 8, 2023: Texas A&M-Commerce at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
The Red Raiders and Lions will renew a matchup that first started in 1927 but hasn't been played since 1949. Tech is 3-0 all-time in the series, including earning a 29-24 win on February 16, 1927, in the first meeting when A&M-Commerce was known as East Texas State College. The Lions are in their second season at the NCAA Division I level after making the transition from DII and are coming off a season where they went 13-20 overall and 9-9 in Southland Conference play. The program advanced to the NCAA DII Regional Quarterfinals in 2021-22 before moving up divisions.
Tech is 71-27 all-time in season openers, including winning 23 straight games to begin a season. The official start of the 2023-24 NCAA season begins on November 6.
November 12, 2023: San Jose State at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
Tech and San Jose State will be meeting for only the second time ever and the first in nearly 20 seasons. The Red Raiders are 1-0 all-time in the series after earning an 88-54 victory at home on November 10, 2005. The game was a first-round matchup of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament that also saw Tech play Syracuse and Wake Forest a week later at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Spartans are coming off a season where they went 21-14 overall and 10-8 in Mountain West action.
The program is led by head coach Tim Miles who is entering his third season. He formerly coached Nebraska for seven seasons and at Colorado State and North Dakota State. Miles also has experience coaching at the Division II level like McCasland (Midwestern State) with successful stops at Southwest Minnesota and Maryville.
November 16, 2023: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
The Red Raiders will take on A&M-Corpus Christi for the seventh time and with a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series. Tech is on a four-game winning streak in the series, most recently securing a 77-57 win on Dec. 12, 2020, in a neutral-court game in Frisco. The Islanders have played in Lubbock three times and are 2-1 in those games, including an 86-80 win over the Red Raiders on Dec. 18, 2000. The last matchup in Lubbock resulted in a 70-55 win by the Red Raiders on Jan. 2, 2011.
The Islanders are coming off an accomplished season where they advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, won the Southland Conference regular season title with a 14-4 record, and won the Southland Conference tournament championship. Corpus Christi opened the NCAA Tournament with a 75-71 win over Southeast Missouri State in Dayton, Ohio before falling to Alabama. The team ended its season with a 24-11 overall record.
Jim Shaw is in his first season as the program's head coach after two seasons as an assistant coach within the program. Shaw takes over for Steve Lutz who left Corpus following last season to take over at Western Kentucky. Shaw worked as the Texas Tech Director of Operations under interim head coach Chris Walker in the 2012-13 season. He also coached at Texas State and Tarleton State before A&M-Corpus Christi.
November 22, 23, and 24, 2023: Texas Tech at Battle 4 Atlantis
*Imperial Arena - Paradise Island, Bahamas
The Red Raiders are set to play three games in the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week, starting against Villanova in their first game of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, November 22 at the Imperial Arena on Paradise Island. The event is a three-game, three-day tournament from November 22-24 with the championship game to be played at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 24 on ESPN. The Red Raiders and Villanova will be meeting for the second time after a NCAA Elite 8 matchup in 2018. The Wildcats won that game by a 71-59 score in Boston and went on to win the 2018 National Championship.
Tech is making its first appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis after spending last Thanksgiving competing in the Maui Invitational. On the same side of the bracket with Tech and Villanova is a matchup between North Carolina and Northern Iowa. The two winners will play each other in the first game of the second day, while the losers meet at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2. The other first-day games are between Michigan and Memphis before the nightcap of Arkansas and Stanford.
November 30, 2023: Texas Tech at Butler
Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, Indiana
The Red Raiders are 0-2 all-time against Butler with a pair of 10-point losses in the series history. The most recent matchup came at the 2016 NCAA Tournament with the Bulldogs taking a 71-61 win over Tech on March 17, 2016, in Raleigh, North Carolina. The first matchup was in Anchorage, Alaska with Butler taking an 81-71 win on November 24, 2007, at the Great Alaska Shootout. Butler is coming off a 14-18 record last season, including going 6-14 in Big East play. The Bulldogs are led by head coach Thad Matta who returned to Butler last season for the second time.
While both previous matchups between Tech and Butler were on a neutral court, the Red Raiders are returning to Hinkle Fieldhouse after dropping a second-round matchup against Arkansas at the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Tech is 1-2 in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle after earning a 79-65 win over Georgetown last season at home. The program took a 72-68 at Providence College in 2021 and dropped a 65-60 overtime decision at DePaul in 2019. The Red Raiders were scheduled to host St. John's in the 2020 Big 12-BIG EAST Battle but had that game canceled.
December 6, 2023: Omaha at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
Tech welcomes Omaha back to Lubbock after also hosting the Mavericks back on November 23, 2021. The Red Raiders won that game by a 96-40 margin and will enter this year's matchup with a 3-0 record in the series. All previous games have been played in Lubbock. The 56-point win in the last game is the fifth largest margin of victory in Tech program history. Omaha is coming off a 2022-23 season where it went 9-23 overall and 4-14 in Summit League action. The team was 1-15 on the road, including falling by a 75-45 result against McCasland's UNT team last season in Denton.
Omaha head coach Chris Crutchfield is entering his second season leading the program after working as an assistant coach at Oregon, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Oral Roberts. Before Oregon, he was the head coach at East Central for one season.
December 12, 2023: Oral Roberts at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
Tech and Oral Roberts will meet for the ninth time with the Red Raiders owning a 7-1 advantage in the series – but also with a loss in the last matchup. The two programs will play for the first time since the 2011-12 season when ORU earned a 72-56 win in Tulsa on December 22, 2011. The win snapped seven straight victories from Tech over ORU, including a 117-99 win in the first matchup on February 15, 1993, in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 4-0 against the Golden Eagles in Lubbock.
ORU is coming off a season where it went 30-5 overall and ran off an 18-0 record in Summit League action. The Golden Eagles won the Summit League regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Duke in the opening round. The 2023-24 ORU program is led by head coach Russell Springman who takes over for Paul Mills who went to Wichita State. Springman has served as an assistant at ORU since 2018 and was also an assistant at Texas for 14 seasons under Rick Barnes.
December 16, 2023: Texas Tech vs. Vanderbilt
*Dickies Arena – Fort Worth
All-time, the Red Raiders are 2-6 against Vanderbilt with all eight matchups having come in the month of December. The most recent game was played on December 20, 1979, with Texas Tech earning an 89-86 overtime win in Nashville to snap a three-game losing streak to the Commodores. The series began on December 17, 1951, when a No. 18-ranked Vanderbilt team topped Tech by a 55-49 decision in Nashville. The Red Raiders have played at Vanderbilt five times, hosted the Commodores twice, and the only other neutral-court matchup came in New Orleans on December 29, 1964. Vandy won that game 83-73.
Tech is currently 0-1 at Dickies Arena with a 64-53 loss to Houston during the 2020 season with limited fans due to the pandemic.
Vanderbilt is coming off back-to-back NIT appearances, most recently going 22-15 last season under head coach Jerry Stackhouse. An NBA veteran, Stackhouse was named SEC Co-Coach of the Year. The 22 wins last season were the most for Vandy since a 25-win season in 2011-12. The Commodores also tied for fourth in the SEC standings, the program's best finish since 2011-12.
December 21, 2023: UTA at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
The Red Raiders are 6-0 all-time in the series against UTA and will host the Mavericks for the first time since 2010. Tech earned a 73-56 win over UTA back on December 22, 2010, in the most recent game between the two programs. Tech is 5-0 at home against UTA in the series with the only non-Lubbock matchup coming with the programs playing in Casper, Wyoming in 1992.
UTA is coming off a season where it went 11-21 overall and was 6-12 in WAC play. The Mavericks are led by head coach KT Turner who is in his first season with the program. Turner, who also played at UTA before beginning his coaching career, was an assistant coach at Kentucky last season after being at Oklahoma and Texas in the prior two seasons as an assistant coach.
December 28, 2023: Sam Houston at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
The Bearkats return to Lubbock for the 10th time to play the Red Raiders in the last game of the 2023 calendar year. Tech is 9-2 all-time against Sam Houston, including earning an 84-52 victory back on November 27, 2020, in the last matchup. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 14 nationally in that game. The historic series began in 1927 with Texas Tech winning on back-to-back days, starting with a 26-16 win on February 9, 1927, before a 40-21 win on February 10. The Red Raiders are 8-1 all-time at home in the series with the loss coming in 2001. Tech has won three straight over Sam Houston coming into this year's matchup.
Sam Houston is coming off a season where it went 26-8 overall and 14-4 in WAC play. The Bearkats opened their season with a 52-51 win over Oklahoma in Norman and also secured a 65-55 victory over Utah. In the postseason, Sam Houston played in the NIT – opening with a win over Santa Clara before taking a 75-55 loss to McCasland's UNT team in Denton. The Bearkats will be led by head coach Chris Mudge this season after he was named the program's head coach in April. Mudge was an assistant for former head coach Jason Hooten (now at New Mexico State) for the past 13 seasons.
January 1, 2024: North Alabama at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
The first day of 2024 will see the Red Raiders host North Alabama at the USA. It's only the second-ever matchup between the programs with Tech earning a 90-66 win back on December 28, 1989. The Lions went 18-15 overall last season and were 10-8 in ASUN Conference action. Tony Pujol enters his sixth season leading the program as its head coach. North Alabama transitioned from NCAA Division II to Division I in the 2018-19 season.
Tech playing host to North Alabama will be the final non-conference game in the regular season with there not being a Big 12-SEC Challenge this season breaking up the conference schedule.
