Texas Tech will visit Cincinnati for a Big 12 showdown Tuesday as each team hopes to mount a run that strengthens its NCAA Tournament resume.
After going winless in its first four conference games, Cincinnati (12-5, 2-4) has won two straight in the Big 12. The Bearcats prevailed 68-62 at Colorado on Wednesday and led by as many as 17 during the second half of a 67-60 home win over Arizona State on Saturday.
Texas Tech (13-4, 4-2), making its first-ever appearance in Cincinnati, is coming off another stellar defensive effort in Saturday’s 70-54 home win over Arizona. The Red Raiders led by three before closing the game on a 13-0 run and forced the Wildcats to miss their final 12 shots.
Texas Tech has held opponents scoreless in the final five minutes of the past two games and is 3-0 in road conference games.
JT Toppin, coming off an illness that caused him to lose 10 pounds, registered his sixth double-double of the season (18th career) with 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Red Raiders on Saturday.
“I felt better this game. I just wanted to give the team my all,” Toppin said, per the Lubbock-Avalanche-Journal.
The win over Arizona propelled Texas Tech into a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings entering Monday.
“I tell these dudes in the huddle, ‘It’s not if we’re gonna win this game. It’s how are we gonna win this game? Let’s go do it,'” Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland told the Journal.
In Cincinnati’s win over Arizona State, Dillon Mitchell scored 14 points, tallied three steals and energized the home crowd with several highlight-reel dunks.
Mitchell, a transfer from Texas, has seized a larger leadership role for coach Wes Miller’s Bearcats during conference play.
“I think it just comes with trust,” Mitchell said. “Coach knows what I’m good at. He knows all my strengths, and he puts me in the best situations to be successful, not only for myself, but for the team. So I’ll do whatever he needs me to do to help win games.”
Mitchell leads Cincinnati with 6.8 rebounds per game to go along with his 11.1 scoring average. Simas Lukosius and Dan Skillings Jr. are tied for the team lead with 12.4 points per game.
Toppin paces Texas Tech in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.2), while Elijah Hawkins averages 6.3 assists.
–Field Level Media
