NCAA Basketball: UCLA’s rise, overrated Texas Tech, and more takeaways

2) Overrated Texas Tech

The job Chris Beard has done at Texas Tech cannot be overstated. He has turned them into as much of a basketball school as there can be in the football-crazed state of Texas and is responsible for the two most successful seasons in program history (each of the last two seasons).

This program has earned every bit of respect and notoriety they have. That said, this year’s group is not going to be one that makes another run through March as many experts have predicted.

Yes, the Red Raiders beat Louisville and lost to Baylor, Kentucky, and Kansas all by five points or less. But coming close doesn’t matter – and the way they’ve played of late has brought about some major concerns for them.

Beard’s squad is really good on the defensive end again (9th in adjusted defensive efficiency) but they’re lacking offensive punch. They have scored 70 points or less in six of their last eight games and were held below 60 in each of their last two losses to Oklahoma and Texas.

Perhaps the biggest reason for this is their lack of a go-to scorer. Keenan Evans was that guy for the Red Raiders two years ago. Last year, Jarrett Culver was that guy. This year, no one has stepped up. Jahmi’us Ramsey has been occasionally, but he isn’t ready to carry that load full-time as a freshman. With guys like Davide Moretti and Kyler Edwards unable to step up either, it has left Texas Tech with a major weakness.

With games against Baylor and Kansas to close the regular season, things may be worse for Texas Tech, too.