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Texas Tech basketball a top-4 seed in way too early 2020 bracketology

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders speaks to the media ahead of the Men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 04, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders speaks to the media ahead of the Men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 04, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images) /
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The earliest bracketology predictions for the 2020 NCAA Tournament are far more kind to the Texas Tech basketball program than the predictions were at this time a year ago.

Though there is an eternity until we get another dose of one of sports greatest and most addictive drugs, the NCAA Tournament, college basketball fans can’t help but already think about which teams will be contenders next March.  And you will have to forgive Texas Tech basketball fans for salivating at another opportunity to bring home the national title that eluded them by mere seconds in 2019.

And college basketball bracketology experts are already whetting out appetite by releasing their way too early 2020 tournament predictions.  But unlike last offseason, Red Raider fans are certain to like what these experts have to say this summer.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, has the Red Raiders slotted as a No. 4 seed in the South region.  This would be an ideal placement because the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in the South will take place in Houston, which would be overrun with Red Raider fans should Tech head to Space City with an opportunity to return to the Final Four.

Over at Brackify.com, the Red Raiders are also a No. 4 seed.  In this bracket, they would face Creighton in the second round before a Sweet 16 meeting with No. 1 seeded Duke.

And we can fully expect the Red Raiders to start next season in the top-25 as well.  Virtually every early preseason poll has Chris Beard’s team ranked, especially with the wave of roster additions over the past two weeks inducing two top grad transfers in T.J. Holyfield and Chris Clarke as well as 4-star high school forward Tyreek Smith.

Rob Dauster at NBCSports.com ranks Texas Tech at No. 10 in his poll which was released even before Smith’s commitment on Saturday.  Other teams of note in Dauster’s top-25 include Tech’s Final Four opponent Michigan State at No. 1, Duke at No. 3, Kansas at No. 7 and Virginia at No. 8.  He also has Tech’s Elite 8 opponent, Gonzaga, ranked just below the Red Raiders at No. 11.

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Prior to the news of Holyfield and Clarke’s additions to the roster, ESPN.com’s Jeff Borzello put the Red Raiders at No. 16.  Now that Chris Beard has added two of the top grad transfers available, one must assume that Borzello will move the Red Raiders up, perhaps even ahead of Kansas at No. 10 and Virginia and No. 14.

Obviously, these rankings and predictions are meaningless right now.  There are still a number of huge dominoes left to fall across the college basketball landscape.  For instance, players have until May 29 to withdraw from the NBA Draft meaning we will not have an accurate picture of what each contender will bring back for at least another month.

And some teams will still add huge pieces on the recruiting trail or via the grad transfer portal.  With at least one scholarship still open, it is safe to assume that Texas Tech will be a team that will continue to add to next year’s roster over the coming weeks.

But what we can learn from these early predictions and rankings is that the days of disrespecting Texas Tech basketball and counting out a Chris Beard coached team look to be over.  Last year, the Raiders entered the season as a fringe tournament team according to most despite reaching the Elite 8 in 2018.

The argument made against Tech remaining relevant in the 2018-19 season was that Beard had to replace six of his top eight scorers.  But after proving that he can churn a roster and rebuild on the fly like no coach in the game, Beard has earned the benefit of the doubt despite losing five of his top eight scorers from this season’s team.   Of course, a top-15 recruiting class also gives prognosticators more confidence in Tech’s ability to be a factor again in the 2020 tournament.

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For years, Texas Tech fans have felt slighted by experts’ offseason predictions in most sports because they seem to always lean towards giving preseason love to name-brand programs.  But after reaching the national title game, Texas Tech basketball has taken a huge step towards becoming an instantly credible brand led by the hottest rising star in the game.  Interestingly, it looks like the task facing the Red Raiders will now shift from proving the experts wrong to proving them right.

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