NCAA Basketball: 10 teams that will exceed expectations in 2019-20
Texas Tech Red Raiders
2018-19 Record: 31-7
The National Runner-up is not getting too much love heading into this season, so, here it is.
It is no doubt to any analyst that the Red Raiders will be good again this season. What is doubted is Texas Tech’s ability to be the best team in the Big 12 and compete nationally once again. My objection: this is a Chris Beard squad we are talking about.
Sure, Texas Tech is without four of their top five scorers from last season’s team: Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, and Brandone Francis, but they return Davide Moretti and Kyler Edwards, and both are more than capable of stepping up and leading this team.
Moretti averaged 11.5 ppg last season and established himself as a deadly three-point shooter. Michigan fell victim to his three-point shooting ability in the Sweet 16 of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a game in which Moretti went 3 out of 4 from beyond the arc.
Edwards only contributed 5.5 ppg as a freshman last season, with limited minutes only being due to the great amount of depth in Texas Tech’s backcourt last season. With them being nowhere near as deep, Edwards will be very important for the success of this team.
Texas Tech also made a big move this offseason by acquiring forward T.J. Holyfield from Stephen F. Austin as a graduate transfer. Holyfield has been very under-appreciated. At Stephen F. Austin, T.J. Holyfield instantly came in and made a huge impact for the Lumberjacks as a freshman. In his three years at Nacogdoches before being unable to play in 2018-19 due to injury, Holyfield averaged 10.7 ppg and played in the 2016 and 2018 NCAA Tournaments. In 2018, he was named the MVP of the Southland Conference Tournament.
Another thing that will help the Red Raiders is having one of the best-recruiting classes in the Big 12 in 2019. They have two great freshmen coming in guard Jahmi’us Ramsey and forward Terrence Shannon. In the 2019 class, they were ranked 32nd and 90th, respectively, by 247 Sports.
The return of two guys that are ready to soar high once again and the acquisition of a great transfer and two really great freshmen will allow Texas Tech to compete for Big 12 supremacy this year.