NCAA Basketball: Ranking the Sweet 16 teams in 2022 NCAA Tournament

6. Texas Tech (#3 seed)

Last offseason saw major change at Texas Tech, as head coach Chris Beard departed to lead rival Texas, leading them straight into the NCAA Tournament this season. Former assistant Mark Adams picked up the pieces and took these Red Raiders to a phenomenal season. When the Sweet Sixteen gets going in a few days, it won’t be the Longhorns who are still playing basketball.

Tremendous defense has been key for Texas Tech, starting with a smothering 97-62 effort over 14-seed Montana State. Simply put, the Red Raiders couldn’t miss their shots, both early and often, with 20-point efforts from both Terrence Shannon Jr. and Bryson Williams. In the second round, they survived a street fight with 11-seed Notre Dame, overcoming a late deficit for a 59-53 win over the Fighting Irish. This time it was Kevin Obanor (15 points, 15 rebounds) and Kevin McCullar (14 points) making the biggest impact.

The Red Raiders added a number of talented transfers, all of whom have taken Adams’ defensive strategy to the next level on the court. When the offense can hit their shots, this defensive-minded team is almost unstoppable. If that’s the case, it’s going to be rough for Duke in their next game. However, this Texas Tech team is very beatable when the offense goes through one of their periods of struggle, as almost happened against the Fighting Irish.