Texas Tech's Christian Anderson Leads Red Raiders to Win Against Duke

Saturday featured one of the best college basketball slates of the 2025-26 season.

A number of the top teams around the country were in action on Dec. 20, and multiple NBA Draft prospects competed in entertaining matchups. Kentucky beat St. John's, Arizona outlasted San Diego State, Stanford topped Colorado, Purdue defeated Auburn, Houston handled Arkansas and North Carolina edged out Ohio State.

Among a handful of other intriuging showdowns, one of the best games on Saturday was Texas Tech's contest against Duke.

The Blue Devils entered Saturday's matchup with an 11-0 record, ranked No. 3 in the latest AP Poll, while the Red Raiders held the No. 19 spot with an 8-3 mark. Each team bosts multiple NBA Draft picks on the roster, setting up for a spectacle in New York City.

The game didn't disappoint, either, as Texas Tech handed Duke its first loss of the season in a narrow 81-80 contest. Brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer were the Blue Devils only double-digit scorers, as Cameron logged 23 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and a block while shooting 7-of-11 from the field.

Cayden finished with 13 points, 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 19 minutes off the bench, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. For the Red Raiders, a trio of potential NBA Draft prospects starred as JT Toppin tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals from LeJuan Watts.

The real star of the show, however, was TTU guard Christian Anderson, who led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Anderson also chipped in 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

Down the stretch, Anderson shined for the Red Raiders, scoring or assisting on 25 of the team's final 31 points.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 178 pounds, Anderson hasn't been in the first round of many mock drafts, but has seen his stock continue to rise after an impressive freshman year in 2024-25 that saw the talented point guard earn Big 12 All-Freshman honors. Over the summer, Anderson had a strong showing in international play, competing for Team Germany in the FIBA U19 World Cup.

In Switzerland, the 19-year-old averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. Now, as a sophomore at Texas Tech, Anderson is averaging 19.9 points, 7.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals while shooting 49.1% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range on 7.7 attempts per game.

If Anderson continues his impressive season into Big 12 play, he should get more looks from NBA scouts and potentially earn a spot in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.