When Texas Tech jumped from No. 23 to No. 16 in last week’s Associated Press college basketball player, coach Pat Knight said the leap could be momentous in terms of keeping Tech ranked after it lost its first game.

On Monday, Knight’s premonition proved correct.

The Raiders are back at No. 23 this week, slipping thanks to the last Saturday’s loss at Wichita State.

“People ask how come teams are ranked higher with two or three losses, and we only have one,” Knight said after his radio show on Monday. “It’s all about how you start out.”

Three of Tech’s first starters showed mixed emotions about the drop. Point guard John Roberson admitted he was surprised the team was still getting enough votes to stay in the Top 25. But forward Mike Singletary said he doesn’t feel that way; after all, he says the Raiders deserve the high billing.

“People were saying how we hadn’t beaten anybody that was really good, so now we’re No. 23, which is good but not where we want to be,” Singletary said. “We’ve got to keep getting better so we can move back up in the rankings.”

Forward Darko Cohadarevic said a win today could mark the start of the Raiders’ rise back through the rankings; Tech hosts Stanford at United Spirit Arena.

The Cardinal come to Lubbock after losing two in a row.

“(Wichita State) was a tough game on the road; we lost by two points,” Cohadarevic said. “I think we’ll start tomorrow and climb back up.”