12. Texas Tech (2-0)
With the return of JT Toppin and the other talent assembled in Lubbock, Texas Tech entered this season with great expectations. Last year, the Red Raiders fell painstakingly close to a Final Four bid, falling just short of eventual champion Florida in the Elite Eight. With a few new faces from the transfer portal, the Red Raiders may just have the talent to make those dreams a reality this season.
Game one was solid, as Texas Tech played smoothly in a 98-60 win over Lindenwood back on Tuesday night, surviving with Toppin out of the lineup. Christian Anderson got his season off to a dynamic start with 34 points and 11 assists while Donovan Atwell added 22 points himself. The Red Raiders were back in full force and got a 98-77 win against Sam Houston on Friday. Toppin made up for lost time, putting up 31 points and 14 rebounds in his own season debut.
After putting up 98 points in each of their first two games, it’s clear that Texas Tech has the firepower this season, but questions still remain. All things considered it wasn’t a great defensive effort against Sam Houston and that was with Toppin back in the lineup and playing at a very high level. Regardless, he’s one of the nation’s best interior players and they’ll certainly need him and everyone to step it up next week, with a tough Tuesday matchup at Illinois.