You know, when your basketball team is facing off against one of the best teams in the Big 12 (and also maybe the country), it never hurts to have one of your best players (and also one of the best players in the country) provide a statline that your opponent just simply isn’t capable of responding to.
On Saturday, when the No. 15 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders men’s basketball team was matched up with the No. 11 BYU Cougars in Lubbock, both Christian Anderson and LeJuan Watts stepped up in huge ways. But it was Texas Tech star JT Toppin that truly looked unstoppable and unmatchable.
All three of that trio were crucial in Texas Tech’s 84-71 home win over the No. 11 Cougars. That said, I think it’s fair to say that Toppin’s double-double may have been the most impressive thing in the Red Raiders’ dominant victory.
The No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders needed JT Toppin to take over the game when it mattered and No. 11 BYU had no response
In the first half (like Watts and Anderson), Toppin put together a pretty solid statline, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Nearly getting a double-double in the first half alone? That’s some really solid stuff.
But Toppin was a force in the second half and the Cougars didn’t have the sort of firepower to be able to keep up with him.
Toppin managed to score 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the three point line. Add in a free throw on one attempt at the free throw line and then four more rebounds and you get a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double against the No. 11 team in the country.
Toppin was the best player on the floor and he was able to take control of the second half in a game where three Texas Tech players completely elevated their performances. Texas Tech was able to ride that momentum to victory against BYU and that puts the Red Raiders in a great spot as the conference race continues to heat up.