Arizona State Stuns Texas Tech, Toppin Leaves Game With Injury
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TEMPE, AZ — The No.13 Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-7, 9-4) fall to the Arizona State Sun Devils (14-12, 5-8) 72-67 despite JT Toppin scoring 20 points but leaving in the second half due to injury at Desert Financial Arena Tuesday night.
Despite picking up its third win in program history over a No. 1-ranked team over the weekend, Tech picked up its second loss since the start of February to end the Arizona road trip.
Final: ASU 72, Tech 67
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 18, 2026
The Red Raiders broke out with 12 early points through the first five minutes of action thanks to the Tech big three of junior forward JT Toppin, sophomore guard Christian Anderson, and senior guard Donovan Atwell. Toppin led the Red Raiders in scoring through the first 20 minutes with nine points on 50% shooting from the field while grabbing five rebounds off the glass.
Whilst Anderson scored eight points on 3 of 5 shooting from the field, while nabbing four rebounds, and dishing out three assists, with Atwell pitching in six early points.
BANG 🎯#TTW | 📺 ESPN2: https://t.co/4B9v4Sh2T8 pic.twitter.com/Nz4T64xNl2
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 18, 2026
However, despite leading for 16 minutes and a 7-0 run toward the midway point of the first half. Arizona State's intensity was full throttle on both sides of the floor throughout.
Arizona State forced eight Tech turnovers in the first half, exchanging them for 14 total points, which helped the Sun Devils fuel multiple scoring runs led by senior guard Maurice Johnson, who led the team with 10 points on 3-5 scoring.
At the same time, the Sun Devils second leading scorer, freshman center Massamba Diop, chipped in with 9 points on 4-9 shooting, who opened and ended the first half scoring, topping off an 8-0 Arizona State run in the final few minutes, sinking a 25-foot three-pointer to give the Sun Devils the lead heading into halftime, up 37-36.
Arizona State continued to keep their foot on the gas coming out of the locker room as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 13-3 run in to start the second half. Toppin continued to will Tech with 11 points to swing momentum back into the Red Raiders' corner.
However, just as the game entered the final six minutes, disaster struck for Texas Tech as Toppin went down with an apparent lower-body injury. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year had to be helped back to the locker room and did not return for the remainder of the game.
Despite the Red Raiders being down their leading scorer, Grant McCasland’s side clawed their way back down by five, going on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes. Tech heavily relied on Christian Anderson, who scored 10 points in the second half.
He scored on a key layup off a turnover after a pair of Texas Tech free throws to cut the lead to three with less than 30 seconds left on the clock as the Red Raiders looked to push for overtime.
Anderson with the steal & the fastbreak layup 💪 pic.twitter.com/hrpYRE3b2z
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 18, 2026
Nevertheless, a missed free throw by Donovan Atwell, and a turnover by Christian Anderson resulting in his fifth foul and 17th turnover by the Red Raiders in the final seconds, helped the Sun Devils hold on to beat Tech 72-67 snapping an 11 game losing streak against AP-ranked opponents with four different players finishing in double figures, and 21 points off turnovers alone.
Tech is set to host Kansas State (11-15, 2-11) four days from now in Lubbock on Saturday at United Markets Arena to tip off a two-game home stand. Despite the Wildcats sitting at No. 15 in the Big 12, they are coming off their largest scoring game of the season, beating Baylor 90-74.
Fueled by junior guard PJ. Haggerty scored 34 points on 15-of-23 shooting, and senior guard Nate Johnson scored 33 on 11-16 shooting to secure Kansas State’s first win under interim coach Matthew Discroll Tuesday night.
Texas Tech remains in fifth place in the Big 12, now two games behind the top spot. Nonetheless, the biggest concern for the Red Raiders is the status of Toppin’s injury moving forward while looking to bounce back, with the timer running down on the end of the conference play schedule.
Tip-off is set for 1:30 P.M. CST between Texas Tech and Kansas State on Saturday on FOX.
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