NCAA Basketball: Reevaluating preseason top 25 power rankings of 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
25. Texas Tech (16-16, No Postseason)
Before the season, Texas Tech had decent expectations, coming off a year in which the defense was the best in the nation and the team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen under first-year coach Mark Adams. A few important pieces left the Red Raiders in the offseason, but this team still had plenty of firepower to contend this season; things just did not turn out that way in the end.
The Red Raiders coasted to a 10-2 start against an extremely weak nonconference schedule before losing their first eight games in Big 12 play. Struggles on offense doomed Texas Tech on multiple occasions, though they did figure things out in February with upset wins at home over Kansas State and Texas getting them back on track. Unfortunately, the season ended in similar fashion, with the Red Raiders losing their final four games, including the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament, to end up with their record at .500.
Due to the strength of the Big 12, the Red Raiders were actually a bubble team before that season-ending losing streak, but things did not turn out as expected. The offense underachieved, Fardaws Aimaq only played a handful of games, and things got even worse when Mark Adams was suspended and later fired for insensitive comments he made to the team. The Red Raiders have little to show for the season and continue to hunt for their next head coach, somehow only four years removed from a trip to the national title game.