NCAA basketball: Top 15 appointment-worthy teams to watch this season

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13. Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Big 12 is a league that always produced quality basketball as arguably the toughest pound-for-pound league in the country. The conference has three teams in this appointment-worthy viewing list, including Texas Tech.

Last season was a struggle at times for the Red Raiders, who lost a number of talented players from their national runner-up team. Chris Beard has done a tremendous job reloading his roster entering the season, adding several notable transfers to bolster Texas Tech’s rotation.

VCU transfer Marcus Santos-Silva will be in the mix right away to help anchor the defense from the 5, but Beard has to be thrilled that Mac McClung received a waiver from the NCAA granting him instant eligibility. McClung was a scoring machine at Georgetown and considered going pro before opting to transfer to Texas Tech, where he should be able to develop more of a complete offensive game.

It may take a bit for this group to jell completely, but there is a ton of talent assembling in Lubbock. Make sure to check in on Texas Tech this season, especially when they play some massive conference games in January and February.