There’s no great way to describe exactly how heartbreaking it is that we no longer will have a chance to see JT Toppin and Christian Anderson play alongside each other this season. With Toppin having to sit out the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury, the Texas Tech men’s basketball team is needing to pivot and adjust in some significant ways.
But while Anderson will no longer have the chance to play alongside Toppin down the stretch of this season, it’s clear that we’re going to see just how dominant and effective Anderson can be through the last few games of the regular season and into the postseason.
In the first Texas Tech basketball game after Toppin’s injury, it was clear that Anderson was performing to the level that Grant McCasland has trusted to keep the Red Raiders moving forward.
Christian Anderson was Texas Tech’s engine as the Red Raiders pummeled the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday
Anderson managed to get through the game against Kansas State by scoring 21 points and dishing out nine assists. Oh, and he got those 21 points in a fantastically efficient manner as he hit on 8-of-13 shooting against the Wildcats.
Oh, and in the 38 minutes that Anderson played, he committed just one turnover. That’s really impressive stuff. As is the fact that Anderson now has 200 assists on the season. He’s been a phenomenal contributor for the Red Raiders all season long and so far that hasn’t changed with Toppin being injured.
Texas Tech will continue to need more great performances from Anderson as the Red Raiders try to keep this season moving on while Toppin works on recovering.
If he can keep playing as he has all season, where he’s scoring 19.1 points per game and dishing out 7.7 assists per game, then Texas Tech will continue to be effective on the offensive side of things.