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.

Ben Golan and Bill Hipple look at some of the best games Tech has had under Beard. We'll start with games 10 through six, along with a handful of honorable mentions, today with the top five to be revealed tomorrow.

Without further ado, here they are...

With so many games to choose from, we couldn't make this list without a few honorable mentions...

12/5/17 (Lubbock, TX): Texas Tech 82-76 #22 Nevada (OT) - This was a game that Nevada thought they had in the bag, they were up 11 midway through the second half, but Tech never surrendered and Keenan Evans willed the Red Raiders to victory in overtime. He finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the comeback win.

2/24/18 (Lubbock, TX): #6 Texas Tech 72-74 #8 Kansas - With College GameDay in town, Texas Tech's crowd did not disappoint. Keenan Evans was still recovering and was not nearly himself, despite that Tech had their chance to win and attempt to break the Jayhawks' streak of Big 12 Championships. KU ended up winning the game but the atmosphere alone makes this worthy of an honorable mention.

12/20/18 @ Madison Square Garden (NYC, NY): #12 Texas Tech 58-69 #2 Duke - In what was a tremendous atmosphere in New York City, the Red Raiders outplayed the #2 ranked Blue Devils for most of the night, but Duke closed on a huge run the last 5 minutes to win. Still, it signaled to the nation that this team was not to be taken lightly.

2/23/19 (Lubbock, TX): #14 Texas Tech 91-62 #12 Kansas - In a game both teams needed to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive, Texas Tech came out on fire and just boat raced the Jayhawks. Everything Tech was throwing up went in as the Red Raiders finished 16 of 26 from deep. This was was the fifth win of nine in a row for Tech, who would go on to win a share of the Big 12 Championship.

3/22/19 NCAA Round of 64 (Tulsa, OK): Texas Tech 72-57 Northern Kentucky - The Red Raiders were a heavy favorite and had the "home crowd" behind them in Tulsa. This was a game for about a half, as the Red Raiders made plenty of self-inflicted mistakes, but once Tech got going it was over. Jarrett Culver finished with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block and showed why he is an NBA lottery talent.

3/24/19 NCAA Round of 32 (Tulsa, OK): Texas Tech 78-58 Buffalo - The Red Raiders beat Buffalo convincingly to make it back to back trips to the Sweet 16.

4/8/19 National Championship Game (Minneapolis, MN): Texas Tech 77-85 Virginia (OT) - No need to rehash this one, it probably deserves to be somewhere on the actual list because it was a tremendous game, but the outcome keeps it from being in the top 10.

The scenario: If you want to say there weren't too many obvious highlights in Chris Beard's first season, you'd be right. Tech finished 18-14 overall, just 6-12 in conference play, and had 1 road win all season. However, the Big 12 home opener versus a 12-1 West Virginia squad was definitely the highlight of the season and a cause for celebration.

What happened: This was a back and forth game, with the lead not going bigger than 7 for either team at any point in the game. With under 10 seconds left in overtime, and Tech down 76-74, Niem Stevenson drove the lane and kicked it to a wide open Anthony Livingston in the corner. He nailed the go-ahead 3, Jevon Carter missed the ensuing shot for WVU at the buzzer, and Tech fans got to storm the court for their first top 10 upset under Chris Beard.

Player of the game: Anthony Livingston hit the game winner so he is the easy choice. Livingston finished with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 36 minutes of action.

The scenario: Chris Beard's squad was 24-9 on the season, 11-7 in Big 12 play and tied for 2nd in the conference with West Virginia. Their star player, Keenan Evans, was still hobbled and coming back from his injury, but as the #3 seed they were the heavy favorites against the Lumberjacks of SFA. The game being in Dallas was also favorable for Tech.

What happened: Tech did not get off to the fast start they hoped. To say Stephen F. Austin held their own would be putting it lightly. The Lumberjacks actually held the lead for the majority of the game, with Tech finally taking the lead for good on a Evans layup with 3:58 left. Zhaire Smith also had one of the highlights of the NCAA Tournament, with a 360 alley-oop dunk.

Player of the game: Keenan Evans finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, made play after play down the stretch, and willed Tech to victory. The only other Red Raider in double figures was Zhaire Smith with 10.

The scenario: Tech was 5-3 in conference at the time, also coming off an impressive Big 12/SEC challenge road win @ South Carolina. However Texas was coming to town, and they had just beaten Tech 2 weeks prior. Future top 10 pick Mo Bamba was a tough matchup and for Tech to win they'd have to keep him in check.

What happened: Another back and forth game. Tech actually jumped out to a big lead, the Red Raiders were up 7 at halftime and 13 in the second half, but Texas wouldn't go away. On a night where the rest of his teammates combined for 35 points, Keenan Evans dropped a career high 38 including the game winning buzzer beater in overtime. Simply stated, Evans' performance was one of the best in Texas Tech history.

Player of the game: Keenan Evans scored 38 points on only 13 field goal attempts. That is absolutely unheard of and is unreal efficiency. He also pitched in 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and oh by the way hit the game winner.

The scenario: Tech was the higher seed and had home court advantage, but Florida was a trendy upset pick as they held more experience in the tournament.

What happened: Florida came out hot as they led by as much as 7 early in the 1st half. The rest of the game was much more back and forth, as Tech took the lead to go up by as much as 8 before the Gators rebounded to tie it. Florida would actually get a last second shot to tie the game, but they missed a couple pretty good looks from deep as the Red Raiders escaped and moved on to the Sweet 16.

Player of the game: Was this the game where Zhaire Smith cemented himself as a first round pick? The 6'5" freshman showed off all his tools in this one, finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal while shooting a scorching 8 of 13 from the field. Keenan Evans was also tremendous, finishing with 22 points and 3 rebounds.

The scenario: Both Tech and Purdue had held serve so far in the tournament, with the #3 seed Red Raiders advancing to face the #2 seed Boilermakers. Chris Beard had beaten Purdue in the NCAA Tournament 2 seasons before that while at Arkansas-Little Rock, so there was revenge on Purdue's mind. For Tech, this was a chance to advance to their first ever Elite Eight.

What happened: Purdue, led by their microwave of a point guard Carsen Edwards, started off hot and led by 7 early on. Tech would take the lead late in the 1st half and never looked back, leading the entire second half and pulling away late to win by double digits. The win meant Tech would advance to their first ever Elite Eight where they would face the #1 seeded, and eventual National Champions, Villanova Wildcats.

Player of the game: Zach Smith off the bench? The Preseason Big 12 First Team selection would miss the majority of his senior year with an injury, but returned in time to play the last few games as a reserve player. In 24 minutes in this one Smith made a tremendous impact, scoring 14 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 70% from the field.

Stay tuned for the top five coming out Wednesday!