Some Sports Illustrated love. You can read the write up here, but here's the tech portion:
The big selling point with the Red Raiders is their elite defense. Adams’s no-middle scheme makes even the best offenses uncomfortable, making it nearly impossible to score in the paint against them despite TTU not having an elite rim protector at the back end. The Red Raiders have length and athleticism at every position and a roster completely bought into defending at the highest level. Some teams get their energy on defense from shots falling on the offensive end—Texas Tech gets its offensive energy from getting stops on defense.
Tech’s offense has also been, for the most part, better than expected without a true point guard on the roster. Particularly with Terrence Shannon Jr. in and out of the lineup all season with nagging injuries, Tech hasn’t had a true go-to guy. Instead, any given night a new Red Raider has stepped up. Adonis Arms had his moment in TTU’s road win at Baylor. Big man Bryson Williams dominated in two games against Kansas. Davion Warren and Kevin McCullar have had their moments. Kevin Obanor was one of the stars of March last season when he was at Oral Roberts. Having so many guys who can win you a game is a strong recipe for March.
Texas Tech (19–6, 8–4 Big 12)
This pick might surprise you, particularly given that it comes at the expense of Kansas (who I’ll discuss later). But per T-Rank, since Jan. 1, Texas Tech has been the No. 7 team in the country (and tops in the Big 12). It feels risky to bet on a first-year head coach, but remember: Mark Adams was the right-hand man to Chris Beard when Tech came so painstakingly close to a national title in 2019, so he has been there before.The big selling point with the Red Raiders is their elite defense. Adams’s no-middle scheme makes even the best offenses uncomfortable, making it nearly impossible to score in the paint against them despite TTU not having an elite rim protector at the back end. The Red Raiders have length and athleticism at every position and a roster completely bought into defending at the highest level. Some teams get their energy on defense from shots falling on the offensive end—Texas Tech gets its offensive energy from getting stops on defense.
Tech’s offense has also been, for the most part, better than expected without a true point guard on the roster. Particularly with Terrence Shannon Jr. in and out of the lineup all season with nagging injuries, Tech hasn’t had a true go-to guy. Instead, any given night a new Red Raider has stepped up. Adonis Arms had his moment in TTU’s road win at Baylor. Big man Bryson Williams dominated in two games against Kansas. Davion Warren and Kevin McCullar have had their moments. Kevin Obanor was one of the stars of March last season when he was at Oral Roberts. Having so many guys who can win you a game is a strong recipe for March.
