It’s become common for Texas Tech Basketball head coach Chris Beard to deal with constant turnover. Can he take a Red Raiders team that returns just two rotational players and make another deep NCAA Tournament run?
Predicated on shutdown defense and Jarrett Culver‘s evolution into one of college’s premier stars, Texas Tech Basketball established itself among the NCAA’s elite last year.
It didn’t matter that head coach Chris Beard lost the majority of his playmakers. Production was replaced via the transfer wire in the form of Tariq Owens and Matt Mooney. The Red Raiders took an even bigger step forward en route to Beard earning back-to-back Big 12 Coach of the Year awards.
Texas Tech opened up the season with 10 straight wins, including two double-digit wins against Power 5 foes USC and Nebraska. Though they would drop one nonconference game to then-No. 2 Duke, as expected, the Red Raiders entered Big 12 play with an 11-1 record.
The hot start to the season would continue, as Texas Tech won four straight, including a win over then-No. 23 Oklahoma, 66-59. However, three straight unexpected losses to Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas State would send the Red Raiders scrambling to regain its footing.
That would come, as the Red Raiders lost just one game the rest of the regular season and take home its first-ever share of the Big 12 Championship. A hot streak would come to a screeching end in the conference tournament, however, as last-seeded West Virginia upset the Red Raiders in the quarterfinals.
Instead of staying down, the punch-in-the-gut loss would fire up Beard’s No. 3-seeded squad, as Texas Tech dominated in NCAA Tournament play. The Cinderella-like run that included two double-digit wins over No. 2 seeds Michigan and Michigan State would come to an end in the National Championship, as top-seeded Virginia pulled away in overtime to beat the Red Raiders, 85-77.
The season ended with Texas Tech ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency and third in opposing team’s 2-point percentage, per Kenpom.com. This is the defense that held Michigan and Michigan State to a combined 95 points in the NCAA Tournament. The defense was the strength, but the Red Raiders were also efficient offensively, ending the year 25th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
But, once again, Beard’s team has undergone a complete change from a year ago. Texas Tech lost four of its top five scorers and return just two players that averaged double-digit minutes from last season. Deshawn Corprew was recently dismissed from the team, too.
Five new faces will figure to see consistent playing time for the Red Raiders including a pair of both Top 100 recruits and transfers that figure to make an immediate impact for Beard’s offense..
Can Texas Tech return to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and continue to battle for the top spot in the Big 12? Will Beard be able to uphold his reputation as one of the conference’s best coaches and defensive gurus?