LeJuan Watts' Historic Night Overshadowed by Texas Tech's Continued Defensive Struggles

First-year transfer LeJuan Watts shone against Northern Colorado with a 36-point night, but the team's defense drew the ire of head coach Grant McCasland.

Texas Tech Red Raiders forward LeJuan Watts (3) looks for an opening against Northern Colorado Bears guard Vince Delano (1) in the first half at United Supermarkets Arena. | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

It was a historic scoring night for LeJuan Watts, the first-year transfer from Washington State, who scored a career-high 36 points on Tuesday, Dec. 16, for No. 19 Texas Tech (8-3) in front of the home crowd at United Supermarkets Arena. Against the Northern Colorado Bears (9-2), Watts had an efficient night from the floor, shooting 12-for-13 with six rebounds and four assists.

Watts became the first player in Big 12 history to score 35+ points while converting 90%+ of their shots from the field. He also drew several trips to the charity stripe, as the redshirt junior forward used his 6'6" frame to draw contact. He shot 11 free throws, making nine of them and hitting three 3s in a 101-90 win.

The California native exploded for arguably the best game of his career, shooting the lights out from every inch of the hardwood. After spending his first three seasons with Eastern Washington and Washington State, Watts is averaging career-high marks in points per game (14.0) while showcasing his versatility on the floor.

LeJuan Watts was HOOPIN' in the win vs. Northern Colorado 🔥

He is the first player in Big 12 history to have 35 points on 90% FG shooting in a game 👏 pic.twitter.com/e307LplQDE

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) December 17, 2025

This development is critical for Tech, a team that is desperately searching for a third option on offense to complement sophomore guard Christian Anderson and junior forward JT Toppin.

However, the Red Raiders are still a flawed team, with deep-rooted roster issues that could prevent Tech from reaching the same heights it did in 2024-25 when it roared to the Elite Eight. The roster lacks depth, which came home to roost against Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 13, and again against Northern Colorado.

Against the Razorbacks, Tech ran just a six-man rotation, which is not ideal in December. During non-conference play, teams are often still figuring out their rosters and trying to learn who can be an impact player and who can compete in certain situations — not shrinking their rotation.

While it was in part due to injuries, including to big man Luke Bamgboye, who missed the game in Dallas, it is more than that. Tech lost talent in the offseason and is avoiding relying on young players who do not yet seem ready to get real rotational minutes. Fortunately, freshman guard Jaylen Petty has stood out as a potential sixth man (7.4 points per game), but he is undersized and has shot 31.9% from the field.

Bamgboye returned to the court against the Bears but was limited to seven minutes after suffering a non-contact injury. His absence was felt down low as Northern Colorado shot 56.1% from the field. He will be evaluated further as the team prepares for an important stretch of play into early January.

Northern Colorado Bears guard Zach Bloch (8) drives to the paint against Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jaylen Petty (11) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Over the last six games, the Red Raiders have allowed three teams to shoot over 50% from the field and 40% from 3. Arkansas scored 93 points against Texas Tech, a season-high mark allowed by Tech's defense; Northern Colorado nearly matched that output three days later with 90 points.

McCasland had previously complimented Northern Colorado as an opponent, a team that entered the night with a 9-1 record. They are the Big Sky Conference's reigning regular-season champions, having gone 25-10 in 2024-25 (15-3 Big Sky).

"[I] give a lot of credit to Northern Colorado. I thought their ability to score, even though they were short-handed tonight, the way they put us on our heels, the way they just punched back offensively," McCasland said after the game during the post-game press conference. "Coach [Steve] Smiley's done a great job with their team. They got mature guys."

Following the loss to Arkansas, McCasland cited the team's lack of connectedness on defense, which he mentioned after the win against Northern Colorado. He had previously said that, while he saw individual moments of effort, he struggled to see it collectively from the team.

"Thought they [Northern Colorado] were better, especially at just being connected enough defensively," McCasland said. "I'm at a loss in regards to who's playing on the floor. Obviously losing Luke … that was tough for our team. He makes such a big difference for our team defensively, even though we were kind of trading punches when he was out there, but we've got to be significantly better."

The Bears scored 40 points in the paint and 17 points off second-chance looks, a potential point of weakness with Bamgboye's injury. Without their starting big man, the Razorbacks also took advantage of the Red Raiders' on-ball defense and lack of length down low, scoring 44 points in the paint and 20 points off second-chance opportunities.

This could prove to be an Achilles heel for Texas Tech as they look ahead to their upcoming schedule. Tech plays Duke on Dec. 20 before returning home against Winthrop and opening conference play against Oklahoma State. Then the Red Raiders travel to Houston to face the national runners-up, the Cougars.

Start your day with highlights from last night’s W

🎥 Highlights | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/sx1P2q8TvK

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 17, 2025

This boiled over into frustration from McCasland, who sees the way his team has played over the last week and warns that it will not be enough to reach the goals the team has set for itself.

"Not taking anything away from Northern Colorado and their effort tonight, but I mean, that [Texas Tech] isn't even close to a team that can win in the Big 12 defensively," McCasland said. "It's not even close. And so, not trying to sugarcoat anything in here. I mean, we're going to have to go deeper in our bench and play guys that have a willingness just to fight and scrap on that end."

Anderson currently leads the Big 12 in minutes played with 417 through 11 games, and six total players have played 250+ minutes this season: Anderson, Toppin, Petty, Watts, guard Tyeree Bryan, and forward Donovan Atwell. Bamgboye is next with 113 minutes in seven games, but no other player has more than 71 minutes.

The Red Raiders may need to give more minutes to their freshmen, including guard Nolan Groves and forward Marial Akuentok, who has been dealing with a lower-body injury. However, it is unclear if the solutions that Texas Tech needs are currently on its roster.

If the team does dig deeper into its bench, it will be baptism by fire as the scarlet and black face No. 3 Duke in their next contest on Saturday, Dec. 20. The game tips off at 8 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. CT) at Madison Square Garden, opening what will be one of the most critical stretches of hoops for the Red Raiders this season.

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