When the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled, the Texas Tech basketball team was robbed of an opportunity to achieve a first in program history. Had Chris Beard been able to take his team back to the Big Dance, it would have marked the first time in the history of Tech basketball that the Red Raiders had been to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years.
Of course, that was no certainty given the four-game losing streak that closed out the regular season. After sitting at 18-9 (9-5 in the Big 12) after a 30-point victory over Iowa State on February 22, it seemed virtually certain that Tech would be part of the field of 68.