NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Gonzaga still sit atop updated top 25 ranking
By Joey Loose
20. Texas Tech (2-0)
Even after losing Chris Beard to rival Texas last year, the Red Raiders were still a force, especially on the defensive end. Even after losing several high-profile players to the transfer portal, these Red Raiders should still be a defensive force and a team that competes in that talented Big 12. There’s not much to gleam after this opening week, but there’s no reason for disappointment either, which isn’t something we can say about all the teams in this conference.
On opening night, Texas Tech won an easy 73-49 game over Northwestern State, getting a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds from Daniel Batcho. The Red Raiders struggled with turnovers (20!) but shot the ball well and kept the Demons in check. Three days later, they secured their second win on the year with a 78-54 victory against Texas Southern. They were less sloppy with the ball and were led by 13-point efforts from Kevin Obanor and Jaylon Tyson.
The 3-point shooting isn’t there yet and the ball handling is an issue, but Texas Tech took care of business twice against inferior opponents, making the easy trek to 2-0. Their defense is going to win them ballgames this year; it all comes down to how this offense runs. Against low-major foes, this is more than enough to win. They’ve got a decent Louisiana Tech team coming to town this week and might want to start figuring out things on the offensive end sooner rather than later.