Texas Tech basketball has seen a massive improvement since head coach Chris Beard took over the program before the 2016-17 season.

In Beard's three seasons at the helm, he has led the Red Raiders to their first ever Elite Eight, first ever Final Four, first ever National Championship game, first Big 12 Championship, has had back-to-back first-round picks, and the list goes on.

In part one of the series, Ben Golan and Bill Hipple gave their honorable mentions and games 10 through 6. Today, we continue the series with part two of the best games Tech has played under Beard, starting at game five and going all the way up to number one.

The scenario: This was a matchup of two of the top defenses in college basketball. Texas Tech was a slight underdog to the 2-seeded Wolverines, but they undoubtedly had the best player on the court in Jarrett Culver. Tech knew that if they were to win, they would have to lean on their star playmaker.

What happened: If you like defense, you really enjoyed this one. The score at the 10 minute mark of the first half was 6-6. The announcers even said that every basketball was a full on celebration. At halftime, Tech led 24-16. The Red Raiders started the second half on a big 12-2 run and just ran away from there. Michigan shot 1 for 19 (!!!) from deep for the game.

Player of the game: Jarrett Culver was the star of the show with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Another key player was Davide Moretti, who finished with 15 points and 4 assists in front of his parents who flew in from Italy for the game.

The scenario: Texas Tech had entered this game having never left Allen Fieldhouse with a win. Kansas, however, had already lost two home games that season which was unusual, and showed they were slightly more vulnerable that season.

What happened: Justin Gray started the game for Tech with eight straight points and while the world kept waiting on Kansas to make their run, it never really happened. Tech led by 11 at halftime and the closest the Jayhawks got in the second half was six points. This was a total team win with five players scoring in double figures.

Player of the game: Norense Odiase was huge in what might have been his career night. He outplayed KU's hyped big man Udoka Azubuike, and Norense finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in just 20 minutes of action.

The scenario: Texas Tech knew entering this game, with Kansas State playing later that day, that a win in Ames would clinch no worse than a share of the Big 12 title. Tech had never won a Big 12 championship in basketball before but this was their best chance to date. Tech was also on an eight game win streak entering this game.

What happened: Iowa State was the team who came out on fire, getting out to an 8-0 early lead. Tech was still down eight with under a minute left in the 1st half, but back-to-back threes by Matt Mooney and Davide Moretti cut the halftime deficit to two. From there it was the Jarrett Culver show. The future NBA lottery pick would finish with a career high 31 points on a scorching 12 for 19 from the field (4/8 from deep) in what might have been his best collegiate game. Texas Tech was Big 12 Champs.

Player of the game: Jarrett Culver who finished with 31 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists on fantastic efficiency.

The scenario: This was Tech's second ever trip to the Elite Eight, and between them and the Final Four was a 1-seeded Gonzaga team. Gonzaga had arguably the nations best offense, led by future first round picks Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke. Gonzaga was 33-3 on the season, and were the favorites to advance. Tech would need contributions from the entire rotation if they were to come away with a win.

What happened: This game started off high scoring which seemed to favor Gonzaga. "You don't want to get in a shootout with Billy the Kid" the announcers said. But Tech would hit shots of their own, and stay right in there. In the second half, TTU's defense would ramp up, and from the 11:10 mark on Tech did not trail the rest of the way. A big part of the win was Tech shooting 9/23 from deep, while holding Gonzaga to 7/26. Texas Tech was going to Minneapolis.

Player of the game: Matt Mooney, Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti all scored in double figures, but Tariq Owens had one of the highlights of the NCAA Tournament with a block and then saving the ball from going out of bounds late in the game. He finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks.

The scenario: Texas Tech, a newcomer to the Final Four, was facing a veteran Michigan State team who had been on this stage countless times under head coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans also had the B1G player of the year in Cassius Winston, and had the advantage of Minneapolis being closer to home.

What happened: This was a defensive struggle in the first half, that closed with Tech leading 23-21. Tech's record-breaking, shot-blocking big man Tariq Owens would go down with an injury early in the second half, which meant Tech would have to rely on two seniors to play heavier than usual minutes in Norense Odiase and Brandone Francis. Both players would come through. Tech, and more specifically guard Matt Mooney, got hot midway through the second half. Mooney hit three straight treys to expand the lead to 13 at the under 10 minute mark. The Spartans would get it down to one point, but a Jarrett Culver pullup 3-pointer with 1:01 left put Tech back up seven and iced the game. Texas Tech was set to play for a National Championship.

Player of the game: Matt Mooney picked a pretty good day to have the shooting display of his season. Mooney hit 8 of 16 shots from the field, and finished with 22 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.