A Texas Tech offense that is hitting its stride and a TCU defense that has tightened will square off Tuesday night in a Big 12 showdown in Fort Worth, Texas.
The No. 9 Red Raiders (20-5, 11-3) are coming off a 93-55 win at Oklahoma State on Saturday. They are tied for second place in the Big 12 with Arizona and have won nine of their past 10 games, including two in a row.
TCU (14-11, 7-7) also has won two straight games — a 73-72 nail-biter over visiting Oklahoma State on Wednesday that featured a Vasean Allette buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and a 74-70 road win over Arizona State on Saturday.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, was slowed by an ankle injury earlier this month. But he didn’t miss a start and still has averaged 17.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He scored career-high 41 points in a double-overtime win against Arizona State on Wednesday and a robust 32 against Oklahoma State.
He’s on the Karl Malone Watch List, awarded to the nation’s top power forward, and has a double-double in three straight games.
“He’s healthy; when you see him move it’s not hard to tell he’s healthy,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “Honestly he’s just moving better. One, he’s feeling better, and two, our offense is starting to really move the basketball. We had 23 assists and just eight turnovers (against the Cowboys).”
With Toppin commanding attention at the rim, the Red Raiders’ shooters have had open looks from 3-point range. Texas Tech is 14th in the nation in 3-point percentage at 38.4.
Three Red Raiders shoot at least 40 percent from beyond the arc, led by senior guard Chance McMillian at 44 percent.
“I think we’ve got a couple of the best 3-point shooters in the country,” McCasland said. “I think we’ve got a couple of the best set up guys in the country. When you get JT in the middle of that, it’s a monster to deal with.”
Meanwhile, for the Horned Frogs, who have won four of their past five games, redshirt freshman Jace Posey has come on strong. Against the Sun Devils, he came off the bench to play 30 minutes, collecting 20 points, hitting 6 of 8 shots from the floor, and making eight free throws and two steals.
“I’m staying the course,” Posey said. “Some things are going to go your way, and some things are not. If you can just stay the course, when your moment comes, you should perform.”
Noah Reynolds, who leads TCU in scoring with an average of 12.8 points per game, scored 19 against Arizona State and said the Horned Frogs’ defense, which led 31-24 in defensive rebounds and forced 14 turnovers, is key to the team’s success.
“We need more of a consistent effort on defense,” Reynolds said. “Myself and Vasean, when we guard at a high level, it translates directly to winning for our basketball team. It starts at the point of attack for our basketball team. When we are out there pressuring guards, creating turnovers in the ball screen, it makes our offense even easier and helps us flow better. We’ve got to be two dogs at the point of attack on defense.”
–Field Level Media
