The Tuesday night matchup between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Cincinnati Bearcats isn’t a game that I circled to pay attention to when it was scheduled. It was far from being the most intriguing game on the calendar.
And heck, there are a number of other games happening across the country on Tuesday that are worth paying attention to. But this matchup between the No. 16 Red Raiders and the Cincinnati Bearcats is littered with interesting elements.
So, here are a few reasons to watch and three key storylines to pay attention to as Texas Tech hosts the Bearcats.
Storyline No. 1: This is the Red Raiders first real test following JT Toppin’s season-ending ACL injury
Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats was indeed the first game after JT Toppin was sidelined for the remainder of the year, but that wasn’t exactly the most difficult test for the Texas Tech men’s basketball team.
This matchup with Cincinnati is something that could present a challenge for the Red Raiders. The Bearcats are on a four-game winning streak and just beat the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks in their own place. Cincinnati is flawed, but they’ve got a solid front court and a really impressive ability to clamp down on opponents, giving up just 67 points per game.
Storyline No. 2: Moustapha Thiam can be a truly terrifying force that Texas Tech will need to figure out how to address
He’s young, he hasn’t played consistently, but man does he look really impressive when he’s playing to his full potential. Moustapaha Thiam is a really tall man who could be a matchup nightmare for Texas Tech as the 7-foot-2, 250 pound center from Senegal managed to bash the Kansas Jayhawks as he scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
He’s only averaging 11.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game, but that showing in Lawrence, Kansas makes it clear that Texas Tech better be prepared to figure out its front court with JT Toppin out for the rest of the year.
Storyline No. 3: Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell can keep making history for Texas Tech
So far, we already have one player who has managed to surpass Cory Carr’s record for three-pointers made in a single season as Donovan Atwell got up to 100 made three pointers when the Red Raiders beat the Kansas State Wildcats. He’s the first to ever make 100 threes in a single season for Texas Tech, but he may not be the last.
Christian Anderson isn’t so far behind. He’s at 91 made threes on the season entering this matchup against the Bearcats. It shouldn’t be expected that Anderson will get to 100 in this matchup, but he might also match Carr’s number of 94 made in a single season. And that would be flat out impressive stuff.