Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
team. 468. . . . Red Raiders . 5
Anyone concerned about the Red Raiders falling off after the departure of Chris Beard had little to worry about. Mark Adams showed Texas Tech would be just fine, and maybe better, under his stead.
In his first season, Adams guided the Red Raiders to third place in the Big 12 and No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they fairly lost to Duke. Adams enters his second season without a single home loss in Lubbock.
Texas Tech was hit very hard by losses this offseason. Adonis Arms, Bryson Williams, and Marcus Santos-Silva all graduated. Terrance Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar transferred, with the latter going to conference enemy Kansas.
Where the transfer portal taketh, however, it giveth as well. Adams cleaned up in the offseason, bringing in a number of instant contributors, including De’Vion Harmon, Fardaws Aimaq, and Kerwin Walton. Don’t be surprised if one of the former leads this team in scoring.
Forward Kevin Obanor will also make a play for team MVP. His first season at Texas Tech was disappointing, as he suffered career lows in scoring, rebounding, and three-point percentage, adjusting to a role that wasn’t as reliant on his constant playmaking as Oral Roberts was. With a second year under the belt, Obanor should be improved.
Elijah Fisher will be the X-factor for this team. The Ontario native was ranked as one of the best recruits in his class, No. 4 overall according to 247 Sports. Harmon and D’Maurian Williams have a better case for playing time, but Fisher is going to force his way into minutes at the guard spot quickly.
Texas Tech’s success this season will be dependent on how quickly the team comes together – they have the second-least returning minutes in the conference. But Adams has already shown he doesn’t need a ton of time to get his players to gel and succeed.