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Texas Tech basketball: Looking back at top 5 games of 2018-19

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Though the 2018-19 Texas Tech basketball season is now just a memory, it will forever be a season that we look back on as one of the most memorable in program history.  Let’s keep enjoying the Red Raiders’ magical run by looking back the five best games from 2018-19.

Every successful venture, whether in sports, business, the music industry or any other portion of society has a moment when the light came on and the breakthrough happened.   And for the Texas Tech basketball program, that moment will forever be the 2018-19 season.

Prior to this year’s run to the national title game, Tech was one of only two Big 12 programs that had failed to reach the Final Four (along with TCU).  And of course, prior to last season, Tech had never been past the Sweet 16.

But now, Red Raider basketball is forcing people around the nation to reconsider where the program ranks in the hierarchy of the Big 12 and the nation.  Gone should be the days when a Chris Beard team will be picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 in a season following an Elite 8 run.

Instead, it appears that Tech will now be one of the programs that is vying for a preseason top-25 ranking on an annual basis.  That should be the case next year as Tech bring in a top-15 recruiting class and one of the nation’s best grad transfers in T.J. Holyfield to help reload after losing four of last season’s top five scorers.

And should Texas Tech basketball continue its upward trajectory under Beard’s guidance, as most expect, we could look back on the just completed season as the one in which Tech hoops truly turned the corner.  As we revisit the top five games from this year, we will look at the games that were both important and entertaining.  Thus, blowouts at home versus Kansas and Texas won’t be on the list because they were not competitive (though they were highly enjoyable.)  And the national title game also won’t be on the list because…I simply can’t.  So with that in mind, here’s our list of the five best games from the season that redefined Texas Tech basketball.

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