2026 NBA Draft Prospects Shine in Texas Tech-Houston Matchup

College basketball continued on Tuesday night with an entertaining slate of NCAA games.

Defending national champion Florida met No. 18 Georgia in an SEC bout, while Penn State and No. 2 Michigan played in a tight Big Ten contest. Elsewhere, Duke and Louisville met in a ranked matchup in addition to Kansas and TCU going to overtime as Darryn Peterson starred for the Jayhawks.

Texas A&M and Auburn also met in a thriller, with the Tigers nearly taking down the Aggies at the buzzer.

One of the most entertaining games of the night, though, took place in Houston as the Cougars hosted Texas Tech for an important Big 12 contest. Houston came away with a 69-65 win against the Red Raiders, led by an impressive second-half from star freshman Kingston Flemings.

The former five-star recruit finished with a game-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-19 from the field, 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line after starting 0-of-5 from the field. The first-year guard added 5 assists, 3 rebonds and a block in the victory.

Alongside Flemings' impressive outing, each of the Cougars' starting big men notched a double-double as Joseph Tugler tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds (7 coming on the offensive glass), 2 steals and 0 turnovers while freshman Chris Cenac Jr. totaled 11 points, 11 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 0 turnovers.

For Texas Tech, potential first-round pick JT Toppin had 18 points, 11 rebounds, an assist, 5 blocks and a steal while shooting 9-of-14 from the field in the loss. Fellow Red Raiders' draft hopeful Christian Anderson finished with 7 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds while shooting 3-of-11 from the field.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Flemings has rapidly risen on NBA Draft boards after an exceptional start to the 2025-26 campaign. Coming into Tuesday's matchup with Texas Tech, the former San Antonio Brennan High School standout was averaging 15.6 points, 5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 54.3% from the field and 43.9% from beyond the arc.

If Flemings continues to perform well in Big 12 play, especially in cruch time situations, the Cougars' standout should cement himself as a lottery pick in the 2026 class.

Toppin, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound junior, likely won't be as high on NBA Draft boards as Flemings, but could still be a first-round pick. Entering the Red Raiders' outing against Houston, Toppin was averaging 21.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 55.3% from the field and 16.7% from deep.

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