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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Texas Tech men’s basketball (22-10) was picked as a No.5 seed in the Midwest Regional of the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will meet the No. 12 seed, Akron Zips (29-5) in the first round out in Tampa, Florida. This will be the Red Raider 22nd appearance in program history.

The Red Raiders enter the tournament off of a season that saw plenty of highs and lows.

Texas Tech ended the regular season with four top ten wins, and Grant McCasland became the first head coach since Bob Knight to lead the Red Raiders to three consecutive 20-win seasons. The Red Raiders also finished top four in the Big 12 earning a double-bye in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

On Saturday, it was announced that point guard Christian Anderson is cleared to play in the tournament after he left Thursday’s game early when he lost his footing against Iowa State.

“Experience in the NCAA tournament always is an advantage, and the fact that Christian’s seen it and had the opportunity to be on a team that made a run, and his leadership with this group, his ownership to how we’re going to compete and play, really is huge to our success,” McCasland said. “So thankfully, he’s feeling great. We’re excited about him leading us and the opportunity to compete.”

As for the lows, the Red Raiders have lost three games in a row as they enter March Madness. The most recent loss coming at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones in the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Texas Tech will also have to continue to navigate the postseason without All-American forward JT Toppin. The Red Raiders have been playing without the former Big 12 Player of the year for the last six games and will have to continue to do so for the NCAA Tournament.

“I just encourage in this team: just go play with everything you got. Go compete on every possession, and you don’t really want it to slow down as much for this team,” McCasland says, “We already have a little bit of a slow process with some of those new guys that have been playing, so it’s more about creating edge and compete and not worried about making mistakes.”

On the other end, the Akron Zips are fresh off of a MAC Tournament Championship where they beat the fourth-seeded Toledo Rockets, 79-76, on Saturday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland to earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This was the Zips third consecutive league tournament title as they became the first team in league tournament history to capture back-to-back-to-back championships.

“We’re playing against an awesome Akron team that’s won 19 of their last 20 games, so they know how to win. Coach Groce, I’ve been familiar with his teams. They got they’re always going to play well. So it’ll be awesome. Great, great opportunity,” McCasland said.

Michigan is the No.1 seed in the Midwest Region.

Texas Tech and Akron are set to play at 11:40 a.m. CT on Friday, March 20.

The other matchup out in Tampa has 4th seeded Alabama facing Hofstra.

Florida is gearing up for a busy spring break season as a number of coastal cities in the Sunshine State ranked high on lists of top travel destinations.

Tampa International Airport is expecting 3.1 million travelers between March 5 and April 13, according to a news release. That averages 75,000 to 80,000 travelers each day during this period.

The peak day is forecast to be March 22, when more than 90,000 passengers are expected to fly in and out of TPA, the airport said.

In South Florida, more than 5.7 million passengers are expected at Miami International Airport from March 6 to April 4 - a 3 percent increase over the same period last year, a news release said.

The season’s busiest week at MIA is projected to be between March 16 and 23. During this time, more than 1.4 million passengers are anticipated to travel in and out of Miami, averaging nearly 180,000 travelers a day, the airport said.

Nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport also anticipates a bustling spring break season, with its busiest travel period expected March 15-17, projecting more than 70,000 passengers a day, NBC 6 reported.

Cities from the Panhandle to the Keys are expecting to welcome spring breakers in droves.

Five Florida cities claimed spots on the top 10 list of trending spring break destinations for this year, according to Google Flights.

While Hilo, Hawaii, nabbed the top spot on the list, followed by Asheville, North Carolina at No. 2, here’s how Sunshine State destinations ranked:

Meanwhile, eight Florida cities landed in the top 20 domestic spring break destinations for 2026, in another ranking.

ACE.com created the list using a data-driven analysis of search demand, affordability, safety, weather, nightlife density and overall things to do.

While South Padre Island, Texas, nabbed the top spot on the ranking, Florida’s coastal cities, and areas with theme parks largely dominated the list.

Here are where Sunshine State cities landed in the ranking:

Four Florida cities also made Spirit Airlines list of Top 10 Searched 2026 Spring Break Beach Destinations.

Fort Lauderdale claimed the No. 1 spot on the list with Miami at No. 3, Fort Myers at No. 4 and Pensacola at No. 10.

The first Bahama Breeze location opened on International Drive in Orlando 1996 and was an instant hit.

Orlando-based Darden Restaurants announced Tuesday it would be closing all of its remaining Bahama Breeze locations nationwide, ending the brand after 30 years.

Half of the 28 Bahama Breeze locations across the country, including the one on Rocky Point Drive in Tampa and another in Lutz, will be converted into Darden’s other restaurant brands over the next 12 to 18 months and are expected to continue operating until any temporary closures are needed to convert them, the company said. The other 14 will be permanently closed as of April 5.

Darden said it doesn’t expect the closures to have a material impact on its financial results.

“The company believes the conversion locations are great sites that will benefit several of the brands in its portfolio,” Darden said. “Going forward, the primary focus will continue to be on supporting team members, including placing as many as possible in roles within the Darden portfolio.”

The first Bahama Breeze location opened on International Drive in Orlando 1996 and was an instant hit. Its Caribbean-inflected menu includes such offerings as Yuca Cheese Sticks, Chicken Tostones and Coconut Shrimp, along with a selection of Mai Tais, Mojitos and Margaritas.

“This creative Caribbean restaurant proves that mega-corporations can do good food if they want to,” wrote the Orlando Sentinel’s food critic at the time, Scott Joseph.

Industry analysts in 1998 said Bahama Breeze’s Florida locations averaged sales of at least $6 million a year, twice the average at each of Darden’s more established chains, Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

But the brand has recently been in trouble.

Darden closed 15 Bahama Breeze locations across the eastern United States in May, saying that it would allow the brand to focus on its highest performing restaurants and strengthen its overall performance. But its nine locations in the Orlando metro area had been spared.

John Gordon, a longtime industry analyst based in San Diego, said Bahama Breeze’s fall is in part due to the relatively limited popularity of Caribbean food in the U.S. It was also about balancing real estate costs versus profitably — a major problem for Darden, since the chain is one of the larger brands in its portfolio in terms of square footage per location.

But he said larger industry-wide problems are also to blame, including consumers who make less than $50,000 annually spending less due to inflation. Consumers in their mid-to-late twenties are also not able to financially establish themselves and spend as much as previous generations were able to do at that age.

Gordon said Darden’s priorities right now are taking care of their existing brands and finding new, exciting brands that they can bring on board.

“They know that Olive Garden is growing older,” he said of the Italian chain’s aging customer base. “Some of the customers are transitioning when they get older, they don’t go out to eat as much. … So they know that they have to be investing in other hot up-and-coming concepts.”

Here is a list of Bahama Breeze locations planned for closing and conversion. The company has not announced specific plans for the converted restaurants.

CLOSING RESTAURANT LOCATIONS

500 Center Blvd., Newark, DE

3590 Breckenridge Blvd., Duluth, GA

12395 SW 88th St., Miami, FL

10205 Rivercoast Drive, Jacksonville, FL

1251 West Osceola Pkwy., Kissimmee, FL

11000 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, FL

1540 Rinehart Road, Sanford, FL

19600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI

2000 Route 38, Cherry Hill, NJ

3309 Wake Forest Drive, Raleigh, NC

320 Goddard Blvd., King of Prussia, PA

6100 Robinson Center Drive, Pittsburgh, PA

2714 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge, VA

15700 Southcenter Pkwy., Tukwila, WA

CONVERSION RESTAURANT LOCATIONS

499 E Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL

805 Brandon Town Center Drive, Brandon, FL

14701 S Tamiami Trail, Ft. Myers, FL

8160 Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy., Kissimmee, FL

25830 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz, FL

5620 W. Oak Ridge Road, Orlando, FL

8849 International Drive, Orlando, FL

8735 Vineland Ave., Orlando, FL

1200 N Alafaya Drive, Orlando, FL

3045 N Rocky Point Drive East, Tampa, FL

755 Earnest W Barrett Pkwy NW, Kennesaw, GA

570 Cross Creek Mall, Fayetteville, NC

7811 Rivers Ave., Charleston, SC

4554 Virginia Beach, Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA

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