We always stay at the Holiday Inn when we go up for the football game. It is between downtown and Tech. There are some decent bars downtown. We usually end up at Bleacher's. The town also has some good live music; not up to Austin standards, but not too bad.
We always stay at the Lubbock Inn. Good location in the middle of everything. Decent price and all around good hotel. They do sell out on occasion, especially for sporting events.