All fired up: Texas Tech students line up early for matchup with UT

Texas Tech students are pitching tents and camping out for the long-awaited men’s basketball game against Texas at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the United Supermarkets Arena.

Tickets for the game went on sale at 10 a.m. Friday and sold out by 10:08 a.m., according to Tech Athletics.

Zackary Henry, a senior supply-chain management major from Brentwood, California said he and his friends are camping out for the “love of the game.”

“There is no experience like the front row and that’s where we plan on being,” Henry said.

Henry said they were able to get tickets on Friday during the eight-minute timeframe, but they’re camping out to ensure they have good seats.

“We all have tickets,” Henry said. “This is to be as close as humanly possible to Chris Beard.”

Former Texas Tech men’s basketball coach, Chris Beard, announced he was leaving the Hub City for Austin on April 1, 2021, to coach the Texas Longhorns, leaving many Tech fans upset.

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Charlie Henry, a sophomore business finance major from Frisco, said he believes the hype surrounding this game all boils down to Beard.

“Chris Beard, you know, he went to UT, and we don’t like UT,” Henry said. “So, it’s just to see him get his team’s loss.”

Zackary Henry said this game is different. He wants Beard to know how Tech basketball fans feel about him after he left, and to watch the Red Raiders beat the Longhorns.

“Most games we show up like four hours before to be as close as possible, but more than any other game, this is an emotional game for many Tech fans,” Henry said. “We want to let Chris Beard know how we feel.”

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As of Sunday, Tech was ranked No. 13 while Texas was on the cusp of being ranked - but that will likely change after the new AP Poll comes out Monday morning, further increasing the hype.

The love of the game motivated numerous Tech students to pitch tents and camp out for the showdown before sunset Saturday - even as the Red Raiders were still battling Mississippi State in the United Supermarkets Arena. Tech would win that game 76-50, improving their record to 17-5.

“The first tent was at 6 p.m. and we were out at 6:05, then someone else was 6:10, then 6:15,” Charlie Henry said. “Just after halftime during the Mississippi State game.”

Raider Riot is the official identity of the student section for Texas Tech Men's Basketball and is known as one of the “loudest and rowdiest student sections” nationwide.

Raider Riot coordinated the “band system” to help organize the Red Raider campsite ahead of the game.

“We have wrist bands that allow us to leave, come back, and save our spot,” Zackary Henry said. “You can leave for classes, food, shower and essentials like that, but you have to have one person per tent at all times.”

If fans aren't already enticed to come out, there will be a pregame event at 5 p.m. at the Rugby Rec Field with features like free Chick-Fil-A and free T-shirts.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech students line up early for Jan. 31 matchup with UT