The Big 12 Conference has released its preseason rankings for this upcoming basketball season and Texas Tech comes in at No. 5 on the list. The Red Raiders were the third-best team in the conference last year, and they added standout forward Fardaws Aimaq via the transfer portal.
So, with all that’s going for them, why are the Red Raiders in the middle of the pack?
There’s no denying that the Big 12 is one of the elite conferences in college basketball. The national champion has come from this conference in each of the past two seasons, and there’s a good chance that streak could continue this year.
Juggernauts like Kansas and Baylor make this one of the toughest groupings in the country. That kind of competition can’t be ignored, and that’s part of the reason Tech’s not higher than number five, but there’s more to it than that.
Tech’s biggest concern going into this season is all of the production they lost from last season. Just about everyone who did anything worth noting last year is gone, except senior forward Kevin Obanor.
Luckily, Obanor’s a good veteran to start with, having been named to the conference’s preseason honorable mentions list.
Obanor is coming off a respectable season, putting up 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. He’ll be one of the Red Raiders’ go-to guys, but he’ll also have some help in the front court from a new face.
Aimaq, who was the 2021 WAC Player of the Year and the conference’s defensive player of the year for the past two seasons at Utah Valley, is expected to make a huge impact in the Red Raiders front court.
The 6-11 rebounding machine averaged nearly 19 points and 14 boards last season, all of which Tech will desperately need in 2022.
The real question is, just how much of an impact will that be?
For now, no. 5 may be a bit low, but it’s not far off all things considered. If Tech can get some of their younger backcourt players to step up alongside Obanor and Aimaq, then the Red Raiders may just make some noise in the Big 12 before the season’s over.
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