5 Things to Know About Purdue's Baha Mar Title Game Opponent — Texas Tech Red Raiders
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After surviving a scare from Memphis on Thursday night, No. 1 Purdue advanced to the Baha Mar Championship finals on Friday night, where it will take on No. 15 Texas Tech. It's a Final Four-caliber showdown in late November, which should be entertaining.
The Red Raiders survived a scare of their own on the first night of the Baha Mar Championship, squeaking out an 84-83 win over Wake Forest. So, both teams feel fortunate to be playing for an MTE title.
Here are a few quick things to know about Texas Tech before Friday night's game in the Bahamas.
Toppin a legit Player of the Year candidate
After averaging 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds a year ago, JT Toppin was tabbed as a National Player of the Year candidate. He's lived up to that standard through the early portion of the season.
Toppin has been outstanding through his first four games this season, recording a pair of 30-point performances in back-to-back games against Sam Houston and Illinois. He's averaging 23.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, and is also shooting 54.8% from the floor.
The 6-foot-9 forward possesses both elite skill and athleticism, making him one of the most difficult players to defend in college basketball.
Not a lot of depth
Texas Tech has a talented starting rotation, but Grant McCasland's team lacks depth. The Red Raiders played just eight players in an 81-77 loss to Illinois and, realistically, only played seven in Thursday night's victory over Wake Forest. Technically, 10 players were on the court, but three stepped on the floor for two minutes or less.
Jaylen Petty is Texas Tech's most consistent bench player, averaging 7.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He's also doing that in 22.8 minutes per contest. The Red Raiders can also go to 6-foot-11 big man Luke Bamgboye at times, but he's appeared in just two games so far.
How will that lack of depth impact the Red Raiders on the second night of a back-to-back?
Anderson can do it all
Texas Tech has its own version of Braden Smith, and his name is Christian Anderson. Yes, it's still early in the season, but he's already showing tremendous improvement from his freshman campaign to his sophomore season.
Through five games, Anderson has been one of the top distributors in college basketball, dishing out 8.8 assists per game. He's also the second-leading scorer for the Red Raiders at 18.8 points per game and is collecting 4.0 rebounds per contest. He's also an aggressive defender and can force turnovers with his pressure.
Having that type of do-it-all player at the guard position is an incredible asset. He's a player who can impact that game in a variety of ways.
McCasland's success
McCasland has had success at every stop during his coaching career. He won a national championship at the NJCAA level at Midland College in 2007. He led Midwestern State to a pair of Elite Eight trips at the NCAA Division II level. The wins have kept piling up since becoming a coach at the Division I level.
The 17-year veteran has had stops at Arkansas State, North Texas, and Texas Tech. His teams have won 20 games or more every season, and none of his teams have finished a year with a losing record. It's extremely difficult to have that type of success at every level of the game.
Atwell's three-point shooting
Adding Donovan Atwell to the roster has been a real boost to Texas Tech's three-point shooting ability. He's a 40% shooter from distance over his career, and he's exceeded that mark through the first five games of the season.
The UNC-Greensboro transfer has knocked down 21-of-43 shots from long distance, just an eyelash under 50%. That's essentially been Atwell's role for the Red Raiders, as he's only attempted one two-point field goal through five games.
It never hurts to have a sniper on the wing ready to shoot when he gets an open look.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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