Takeaways From No. 13 Texas Tech's Upset Loss To Arizona State
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Three days.
That's how long it took for the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders to go from being on top of the world to plummeting back down to reality in the form of a 72-67 loss on the road against the Arizona State Sun Devils Tuesday night.
And JT Toppin going down with a lower leg injury late in the game didn't help much for the team either, though the big man was still able to put up 20 points and eight rebounds.
Takeaways From the Defeat
Here are a few takeaways following the upset loss in Tempe for the Red Raiders.
A Future Sans Toppin?
This isn't a reality that Texas Tech nor its fans would be comfortable, but until there is more detail disclosed about the severity of JT Toppin's injury, the safe thing for the team to do is hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Toppin suffered his injury with a little over six minutes left in the contest, landing awkwardly on his right leg after driving to the basket and required assistance to remove himself from the court and did not return.
Head coach Grant McCasland confirmed that the Dallas native injured his lower leg but was unable to update everyone on just how bad.
A future without the preseason All-American is certainly doable, as players such as Donovan Atwell, Christian Anderson, and LeJuan Watts have carried their own respective loads on the team and will simply need to step up their production if Toppin is forced to miss time.
UPDATE: JT Toppin does have an ACL tear and will be out the rest of the season.
A Necessary Wake Up Call
Texas Tech's head had to still be high in the clouds after their win against Arizona, and after trailing by as much as 11 late in the second half against a team that has struggled to put much together in conference play this season, this seems to be a wakeup call that Texas Tech needed after such a big win.
This is the same call that Tech received after their win over the Houston Cougars at the end of last month, but hopefully this is the only loss that will follow instead of the two straight that the team faced last time.
Turnover Turmoil
Even if Toppin had finished the game for the team, a win would've been close in the neck-and-neck contest, especially considering the 17 turnovers that Tech committed over the course of the action, compared to the nine that the Sun Devils were guilty of.
Those turnovers resulted in 21 more points for Arizona State, while Texas Tech was only able to take advantage of six points worth of turnovers on their opponents, going to show that less turnovers turns into less opportunities for the opposition to take advantage of.
The Red Raiders will look for a bounce back when they take on the Kansas State Wildcats Saturday afternoon, hopefully with JT Toppin fully recovered and in his usual superstar role.
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Aaron Raley is a writer covering the Texas Tech On SI. Born and raised in Northeast Texas, Aaron earned a degree from Texas A&M University in journalism, with minors in history and sports management. Aaron’s writing abilities are driven by his love and passion for various sports, both at the collegiate and professional levels, as well as his experience in playing sports, especially baseball and football.
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