LUBBOCK, Texas — When one team is 9-3 in the Big 12, and the other is 3-9, and the team that’s 9-3 is at home, and the team that’s 3-9 is missing its best freshman, there’s no real reason to expect an instant classic. You can hope for one, sure, but there are few tangible things to attach to that hope, which is one of many reasons Texas Tech closed Wednesday as a 16.5-point favorite over Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils, who entered with a 2-8 record in their previous 10 games and without Jayden Quaintance, the five-star freshman sidelined with an ankle injury.
And yet we still got an instant classic!
Final score: Texas Tech 111, Arizona State 106 in 2 OT.
Incredible game.
I was fortunate to be the sideline reporter inside United Supermarkets Arena for CBS Sports Network, in part because watching a game where both teams shoot above 55% from the field and make a double-digit number of 3-pointers over a span of 50 minutes is a fun way to spend a few hours.
It was a blast.
And JT Toppin was awesome. The 6-foot-9 sophomore from Dallas took 22 shots, made 17 of them and finished with a career-high 41 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. According to Jared Berson, that makes Toppin the only player in the past 30 years to get at least 40 points, at least 15 rebounds and multiple steals and blocks in a Division I game.
“In a game where it’s open-flow like this, and you can give him some space, he’s so dynamic — but having shooters around him gives him that space,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland told me late Wednesday. “That’s why this game is so awesome, man. It’s about the team; JT would say it. But what was best about it is he’s getting buckets, but he’s more excited about getting stops at the end of the game. That’s the heart behind our program. If we can keep scrapping and find a way to be good defensively, we’ve got enough offensive-talent to be special.”
Texas Tech is No. 17 in Thursday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn remains No. 1 for the 37th consecutive day. The Red Raiders are now 19-5 overall and 10-3 in the Big 12 heading into Saturday’s game at Oklahoma State.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
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