Now ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, the Texas Tech basketball team will try to stay in the Big 12 regular-season race and position itself for a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament tonight when the Red Raiders travel to Fort Worth to face the TCU Horned Frogs.
Though Texas Christian is far from elite, tonight's contest could be a sneak-tough test. That's because the Frogs are playing well as of late.
Winners of four of their last five games, they have kept alive their hopes of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament. Of course, picking up a huge home win over the No. 9 team in America would do wonders for TCU's tournament resume so they will be hungry to get the Red Raiders in their building.
Now, TCU's arena isn't exactly a hornets' nest for opposing teams. The Frogs have trouble filling their own barn and tonight, there is expected to be a healthy amount of Scarlet and Black in the stands to help energize the road team.
Still, TCU has dropped only two home games this year. Therefore, this is a game that Tech can't take for granted.
When these teams met in Lubbock on January 29, Tech let the Frogs hang around for the first 2/3 of the game. In fact, at the 11:19 mark of the second half, the Red Raiders led only 48-44.
Fortunately, the Red Raiders would pull away for a 71-57 victory. Also, we must keep in mind that forward Darrion Williams didn't play in that game meaning Tech was able to handle its business without one of its three most important players.
That day, JT Toppin was his usual dominant self with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Now, he comes into the rematch in Fort Worth as the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 36.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in his two games last week.
Hopefully, Toppin will continue his excellence tonight and lead his team to its seventh Big 12 road win in eight games. It is always fun when Tech and TCU square off in any sport and those Red Raiders who won't be in the building will be tuning in to check out all the action. So let's take a look at what fans need to know ahead of tonight's rivalry game in Cowtown.
Texas Tech vs. TCU broadcast information
Tip: 7 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN+
TV CALL: Lowell Galindo (play-by-play), Tom Crean (analyst)
RADIO: TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK
RADIO CALL: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Texas Tech vs. TCU series history
Overall: Texas Tech leads 88-56
In Fort Worth: Texas Tech trails 33-34
Last year in Fort Worth: TCU 85 - Texas Tech 78
Texas Tech vs. TCU Odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.com.
Favorite | Moneyline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|
Texas Tech -6.5 | Texas Tech -280 | 141.5 |
Texas Tech vs. TCU game notes
Notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.
- Texas Tech is off to its best 14-game start to a Big 12 season at 11-3. Tech was 10-4 in 2019 and 2022 and 9-5 in 2005 through 14 Big 12 games. The Red Raiders went 14-4 in 2019 to win their only Big 12 regular season championship and post their best conference record in program history.
- Tech is playing its 100th season and has now won 20-plus games 18 times. McCasland joins Bob Knight as the only two coaches with 20-plus wins in their first two seasons after Knight’s teams accomplished it in 2001-02 and 2002-03. In 11 seasons as an NCAA coach, McCasland has now won 20 or more games 10 times with the only exception coming in an 18-win year in 2020-21 at UNT with reduced games because of Covid restrictions.
- This is the first time since the 2001-02 season, that Tech is coming off of back-to-back games of 90-plus points in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders scored 111 against Arizona State on Wednesday and 93 against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
- Tech matched the program record with 16 3-pointers at Oklahoma State, the second time this season and fifth in program history (matched the Big 12 program mark with 16 in a win over Kansas in 2019). The Red Raiders have now made 10 or more 3s in 16 games this season with a season-best six-game streak going into the matchup at TCU.
- Toppin is the first Red Raider since Keenan Evans (2018) with back-to-back 30-plus scoring games. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Toppin is the first player this season with consecutive games with 30 points and 10 rebounds and the first since Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in 2010. For the week, Toppin averaged 36.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and shot 29-for-39 (74.4 percent). He has recorded three straight double-doubles for the second time this season and now has 10 double-doubles this season and 22 in his career. Dub Malaise is the only Texas Tech player with three straight games of 30-plus with 43 at TCU, 40 against Texas A&M, and the program record of 50 at Texas in 1966.