No. 15 Texas Tech opened the spring semester with a comfortable 88-74 Big 12 win over Utah on Wednesday night at United Supermarkets Arena, anchored by a historic all-around performance from junior forward JT Toppin.
Toppin concluded the game with 31 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocked shots as the Red Raiders improved to 13-4 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 play, and 9-0 at home this season. He became the first Division I player since Georgetown's Michael Sweetney in 2003 to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks in a single game. He is also the only Division I player this season to reach the 31/13/7/5 stat line in one contest.
The performance was Toppin’s sixth consecutive double-double and his 11th of the season. It was also his 30th double-double in 49 games since transferring to Texas Tech from New Mexico and the 42nd of his collegiate career. He shot 14-for-23 from the field, made a career-high three 3-pointers on four attempts, and added five offensive rebounds. For the season, Toppin is averaging 21.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.
Christian Anderson complemented Toppin with one of the most productive games of his career, recording 26 points and 10 assists for his fifth double-double of the season. Anderson matched a career high with six made 3-pointers on 11 attempts and now has five games this season with at least five 3-pointers. He is averaging 19.7 points and 7.4 assists per game while shooting 43.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The Red Raiders shot 51.4 percent from the field and 13-for-31 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range, the 12th time in 17 games this season Texas Tech has made double-digit 3s. Donovan Atwell added 12 points on four 3-pointers, and LeJuan Watts contributed nine points and eight rebounds. The Red Raiders finished with 22 assists on 36 made field goals.
Texas Tech controlled the interior, outscoring Utah 36-24 in the paint and outrebounding the Utes 41-28, including 13 offensive rebounds. They also forced 13 turnovers and held an 18-14 advantage in points off turnovers. Utah shot 12-for-25 from 3-point range and was led by Keanu Dawes and Don McHenry with 18 points apiece, while Terrence Brown scored 17. The Utes dropped to 8-9 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 play and have now lost 11 straight true road games.
The Red Raiders built a 50-36 halftime lead behind 18 first-half points each from Toppin and Anderson and led by double figures for most of the second half.
Texas Tech will next host No. 11 BYU on Saturday night at United Supermarkets Arena.
