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NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 5: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 5: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Davide Moretti #25 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

11. team. 468. . . . Red Raiders

NCAA Basketball power rankings – Texas Tech Red Raiders

To be clear, this is under the assumption that Georgetown transfer Mac McClung isn’t available for next season, as he’ll need a waiver in order to avoid sitting out. But still, I’m very high on the Red Raiders, even after the news that junior sharpshooting guard Davide Moretti has elected to go pro recently.

Even assuming that leading scorer Jahmi’us Ramsey is off to the NBA, there is still plenty to like on the Red Raiders perimeter. Kyler Edwards is more than capable of being a starting point guard in the Big 12 and five-star incoming freshman Nimari Burnett can essentially replace what Ramsey just did. Top-50 wing Micah Peavy will have an impact as well, while Terrence Shannon Jr. is a breakout star in the making.

The biggest difference between this past season and what 2020-21 will look like is in the frontcourt. They rolled with basically a four-guard lineup with TJ Holyfield at the center spot all of last year. This time around, they’ll have UNLV transfer Joel Ntambwe and VCU grad transfer center Marcus Santos-Silva to operate in the frontcourt. Ntambwe could be a 12-15 scoring big man, while Santos-Silva fits the defensive scheme the Red Raiders have excelled at.

Waivers from either McClung or Wichita State guard Jamarius Burton or No. 1 prospect Jonathan Kuminga joining would make Texas Tech top-10 worthy. Either way, there’s plenty of talent and depth that should make this team a clear-cut Big 12 contender and ready for another run in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Chris Beard deserves to benefit of the doubt to make these pieces work together.

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