Fansided

College basketball rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 for 2019-20

By Connor Muldowney

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders 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 Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders 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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ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 28: Parker Hicks #20 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Avery Benson #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Malik Indigo #10 Norense Odiase #32, Tariq Owens #11, Deshawn Cornrow #3, Davide Moretti #25, and Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 28: Parker Hicks #20 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Avery Benson #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Malik Indigo #10 Norense Odiase #32, Tariq Owens #11, Deshawn Cornrow #3, Davide Moretti #25, and Matt Mooney #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

The biggest storyline this offseason will be the Red Raiders’ ability to retain Chris Beard who has undoubtedly drawn interest from a multitude of top programs.

Texas Tech made the Elite Eight a season ago and then the national title game this year, putting the basketball program on the map. Before Beard, no one even thought twice about Texas Tech as a basketball school, even with Bobby Knight and Tubby Smith in town, but times have changed.

Winning 30 games isn’t easy at this level, but Beard got it done with a hodgepodge of different players transferring in from numerous programs, mixing with young guys to create the perfect winning recipe.

Virginia was able to hold off the Red Raiders on Monday night to capture their first title and send Beard and Co. home thinking about the next step.

If Beard stays, this team will be back in the top-10, or at least it should be in my opinion, even though it’ll lose Jarrett Culver to the NBA. Brandone Francis, Matt Mooney, Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens have all exhausted their eligibility but Texas Tech has the No. 14 recruiting class coming in.

With Beard in charge, the Red Raiders will find ways to win and just reload.