Busting Brackets
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NCAA Tournament 2019: 5 top seeds that won’t win the national championship

By Brian Rauf

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers high fives head coach Rick Barnes as he checks out of the second half of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers high fives head coach Rick Barnes as he checks out of the second half of the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders scores on a fast break during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Sprint Center on March 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 14: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders scores on a fast break during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Sprint Center on March 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Red Raiders are the No. 3 seed in the West and have the not-so-honorable distinction of being the highest seed that lost in the first round of their conference tournament.

After closing the regular season on a nine-game win streak, Texas Tech fell flat on their face against West Virginia in a performance that epitomized why they’re on this list.

Don’t get me wrong – I really like this Texas Tech team and think they’re a lock to make the second weekend. In fact, I have them in the Final Four. Chris Beard is one of the two favorites to win National Coach of the Year and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jarrett Culver ended up being a top-five pick in the 2019 draft.

However, when it comes to winning a championship, the Red Raiders simply don’t have the consistent firepower to get past the teams they’d have to beat. Culver is great, but the rest of the roster is streaky offensively.

During a 6-4 start to the calendar year, Texas Tech was averaging just 64.4 points per game. The Red Raiders upped that to 79.7 points per game during their nine-game win streak. A dreadful start against West Virginia (Texas Tech scored just 13 points in the first 13 minutes) sunk them and a similar stretch will do the same at some point in the tournament.

As we mentioned at the start, all but one national champion (2014 UConn) ranked in the top 22 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. Texas Tech enters the tournament ranked No. 36.

Again, it won’t stop them from making a run and winning a few games, but don’t pick them to cut down the nets in April.

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