As teams continue to grind through the 20-game Big 12 schedule, injuries seem to be playing a critical role in the conference. Fortunately, aside from the knee injury that ended the season of former Red Raider forward Devin Cambridge, Tech has avoided any major injuries this season.
However, at this time of the season, dings and tweaks are always a concern. That's the case for the Red Raiders as two of the team's most important pieces, JT Toppin and Chance McMillian were both hobbled at times during Tuesday's 69-66 loss to TCU.
Thursday, head coach Grant McCasland met with the media and provided updates on both players. Fortunately, the news he delivered was positive.
Texas Tech avoids major concerns with Toppin and McMillian
Late in the TCU game, Toppin was seen limping near the baseline before going to the floor right as the game was stopped for a media timeout. He would return to the court and finish the contest but still, McCasland was asked about Toppin's status for Saturday's game at home against West Virginia.
"Yeah, I mean, I think our whole team's dealing with it like every team in our league is," McCasland said. "I mean, this is a daunting schedule to play 20 [Big 12] games and for us to not have a break I think it really puts the emphasis on depth and JT tweaked his ankle at the end of the game but I would anticipate him being a full go for Saturday."
So far this season, Toppin, a sophomore who is in his first season as a Red Raider after transferring in from New Mexico, is averaging 17.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. However, against TCU, he was held to 14 points which was quite the falloff from his two previous games when he posted 41 and 32 points.
However, the injury wasn't why he didn't have a bigger impact. Rather, he struggled with foul trouble which relegated him to the bench for long stretches as he played only 25 minutes in the game. When he was on the floor, he faced a double-team nearly every time he touched the ball which also kept him from having a huge night on the scoreboard.
Of course, earlier this season, he missed four games over the span of a month with a lower leg injury sustained in practice. What's more, he has tweaked his ankle in other Big 12 games prior to Tuesday night. Fortunately, though, he has been resilient and shown the ability to bounce back with relative quickness.
Meanwhile, McMillian also did something to his foot or ankle on Tuesday as he was seen limping a bit during the game. What's more, the media spotted McMillian sporting a walking boot during the team's Thursday shoot-around. McCasland gave some insight into his star guard's status.
"We're just trying to make sure," McCasland said, 'that this time of year, all these guys are dealing with ailments so you take the extreme precaution just to try to make sure everybody's healthy so that we can play them on Saturday."
Against TCU, McMillian played 36 minutes scoring 19 points and grabbing four rebounds. Therefore, his injury obviously wasn't too severe.
Still, anytime a player shows up in a walking boot, it is going to raise concerns. Fortunately, it appears that McMillian's prognosis is good and it sounds like he should be able to give it a go on Saturday.
The Red Raiders have only five Big 12 games remaining and the hope is that the team can navigate that stretch of the season without taking another injury. That's because this team has hopes of a deep run in March. For that to happen, though, their health must remain solid.