11. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last Week: No. 16
Texas Tech is undefeated with neutral-site wins over USC, Nebraska, and Memphis. Yup, that’ll do. The Red Raiders have been absolutely superb to this point in the season and they deserve this incredibly quick rise to the fringe of the top-10 in the nation. Head coach Chris Beard is absolutely one of the best in the business and his team is playing at an extremely high level right now.
And with three relatively easy opponents approaching, it seems likely that the Red Raiders will not only be undefeated but also ranked in the top-10 when they face off against Duke in a neutral-site game on Dec. 20. Texas Tech’s rise in the early portion of this season has been a surprise to many but it certainly seems like they are “for real”. Through seven games, the Red Raiders average point differential is +25.1.
So even though Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith are gone, Texas Tech still has the potential to compete near the top of the Big 12 this season. The Red Raiders are now led by a sophomore trio spearheaded by Jarrett Culver as well as South Dakota transfer Matt Mooney.