Texas Basketball: What to expect from 2019-20 Red Raiders

Things might look ugly at times early in the season

In the last two years, we’ve been spoiled by the Red Raiders’ success in their pre-Big 12 games.  Going a combined 22-2 prior to the start of conference play, the last two Texas Tech teams have mowed their way through the first two months of the season as we’ve never seen before in Lubbock.

But don’t be surprised if that is not the case this year.  Of course, the schedule is tougher this year than it ever has been in Beard’s tenure with the likes of No. 5 Louisville, Iowa, Creighton (or San Diego State), and DePaul on tap in the first month-and-a-half.

That’s a tough slate of games for a roster featuring seven freshmen, five of them being true freshmen.  What’s more, this will be a work-in-progress for Beard as he tries the ultimate chemistry experiment of building a championship-caliber team with as many as ten players that did not play for the Red Raiders last season.

Of course, many thought that last year’s team would get off to a slower start as well given that the team was replacing six regulars from the 2017-18 Elite Eight team.  But this year’s team is dealing with even more turnover than we saw a year ago and as a result, two or three losses before conference play wouldn’t be a shock.

At times, the offense will look sloppy and the defensive rotations will be off.  We will want to throw our hands up in frustration and there may even be some consternation from portions of the fan base.

This team is going to work through some kinks early.  That’s really what the non-con is for.  Of course, the goal is to win every game but given that this roster welcomes back only two regulars from last year, don’t be disheartened if the Red Raiders don’t look like we’ve come to expect right out of the gates.