Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

Chris Beard came to Austin on a magic carpet last year and assembled an All-Star roster meant to compete for a national title. It didn’t work out that way, but the Texas Longhorns should still be a serious threat for a Big 12 championship in Year 2.

A lot of longtime stalwarts of the program are gone, including Andrew Jones, Jase Febres, and Courtney Ramey, the latter whom transferred to Arizona. Tre Mitchell and Devin Askew also transferred elsewhere.

But plenty of last year’s super team is back to give it a shot that will go into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Marcus Carr, Dylan Disu, and Timmy Allen are all ready to excise the demons of last season.

Meanwhile, Texas made one of the snatches of the offseason, stealing star guard Tyrese Hunter from conference foe Iowa State. Hunter came on the scene in a surprising way last year, but if he can keep it up, he’ll be one of the team’s most important players.

Beard is also growing internally with one of the best-recruiting classes in the country. Point guard Arterio Morris and small forward Dillon Mitchell will both see immediate playing time. While Morris might spell Hunter off the bench, Mitchell should be a Day 1 starter and perhaps start.

Texas is making the move from the Erwin Center to the Moody Center this season. Maybe that will be enough to shift the mood from a season that didn’t meet expectations to one that could.