This has been a pro basketball state for a quarter of a century now. Eight of the last 25 NBA championships have been won by Houston, San Antonio and Dallas with the Spurs, of course, claiming the majority of those. Texas Tech is working hard to alter the state's reputation at the college level.
Bound for the Final Four for the first time in school history, Tech is also the first team from the state to venture this far in the bracket since Rick Barnes' Longhorns in 2003. For the Red Raiders, it has been a long, hard journey.