Red Raider Fans Holiday Wish No. 6 of the 25 Texas Tech Fans Wishes

As the holiday wishes count down to the final five, these wishes will truly be the ones that Texas Tech fans can dream about coming true.

These final wishes are less likely to come true due to the challenges involved in making them happen. The obstacles, difficulties, and history are not on the side of these wishes likely coming true. However, this is why they are wishes and fans have the right to believe in these wishes possibly coming true this holiday season.

Holiday Wish No. 6: JT Toppin and Christian Anderson will be the first duo to be named first-team All-Americans for the first time since 2019.

The last duo to be named first-team All-Americans was Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett from Duke in 2019. The previous duo to accomplish this recognition as All-Americans was in 2003 when Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich from Kansas both received this honor.

For JT Toppin and Christian Anderson to be the first teammates to be chosen as First-Team All-Americans in the same season, they would have to do something that hasn't been done since 2019.
The Associated Press (AP), the NABC, the USBWA, and Sporting News all use a scoring system to decide who appears on the consensus First-Team All-America list. Toppin and Anderson not only need to play exceptionally, as they have for most of this season, but they also need to lead Texas Tech to some impressive wins.

This is how the Texas Tech duo could realistically do this season. Both players are now playing at a level that is very rare for two players to achieve simultaneously. Currently, their combined efforts are propelling both players' chances of making the Big 12 first team. However, they need to play even better to be considered consensus All-Americans.

JT Toppin scores about 21.9 points and grabs 10.6 rebounds per game this season. He consistently achieves double-doubles and currently leads the Big 12 in rebounding, and he earned the title of Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year based on his play last season. Christian Anderson is averaging about 19.3 points and leading all current Big 12 players with 7.5 assists per game. He went from a true freshman to one of the best playmakers in the country as a sophomore.

Usually, a team needs to be outstanding (like Duke in 2019 or Kentucky in 2010) to have two players on the First Team. Texas Tech must more than likely win the Big 12, widely regarded as the most challenging basketball conference from top to bottom this season. To get the attention of the national media and the coaches who vote who select these awards, they need to have "signature" performances in televised games, like in their game versus Duke and later on in the season against Houston and Arizona.

If one teammate is clearly the second choice, the other teammate will often "split" their votes. People must see Toppin and Anderson as co-alphas for them to both make the First Team. Individuals must recognize Toppin as the most dominant inside player in the nation and Anderson as the premier "pure" point guard, responsible for unifying the team's performance on the court.

To be selected as a Consensus First-Team All-American, each player must get enough votes to rank in the top five. Across the four major organizations, they get 3 points for being on the First Team, 2 for being on the Second Team, and 1 for being on the Third Team. To make sure they don't get moved to the Second Team by other elite players, they would probably need to be First-Team picks by at least three of the four main publications.

This is a wish that many college basketball fans may say is highly unlikely. However, this is the holiday season and this wish is not impossible to actually happen.

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