Texas Tech Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for Red Raiders

Overall outlook and expectations for Texas Tech

The respect for the Red Raiders program on a national level is clearly there, with a consensus top-20 preseason ranking for the upcoming season. However, this team is flying under the radar a bit in the Big 12, thanks to what seems to be another round of Baylor vs Kansas battles to decide the conference. Both of these teams are preseason top-10 teams, with the Bears as high as No. 2 in the AP poll.

While Baylor and Kansas are the clear teams to beat in the conference, Texas Tech also has to deal with West Virginia and Texas, two other programs ranked in the preseason polls. Both are talented defensive units but struggled on offense, an area where the Red Raiders can separate themselves. Add Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (led by No. 1 recruit Cade Cunningham) in the mix and there’s a chance that this program could end up 7th in the worst-case scenario.

Texas Tech has one of the more fascinating rosters in all of college basketball. Mid-major frontcourt transfers, and a high-profile guard who on paper doesn’t seem to fit the program’s scheme makes the Red Raiders a “must-watch”. There’s a chance that this works out great and the Red Raiders are a top-10 overall team or the pieces simply don’t fit and they fall down the Big 12 standings.

But those are the same risks that Coach Beard has been doing since he arrived in Lubbock. This won’t be any different and the recent history says it’ll work out. On a team with a number of potential leading scoring options, there’s no preview that’ll do justice on the kind of season this program is truly capable of.