Texas Tech's JT Toppin Leads Red Raiders to Road Win Against Arizona

The 2025-26 NCAA basketball campaign has been entertaining throughout the season.

A number of teams and players have shined, while there has been solid competition throughout the year. Saturday marked another impressive slate of contests, with multiple ranked matchups taking place throughout the day.

As conference tournaments continue to creep closer, teams are vying for March Madness spots and seeding, creating even more intrigue.

One of the most exciting games on Saturday was Texas Tech's showdown with Arizona. The Red Raiders managed to secure a 78-75 win on the road in overtime, improving to 19-6 on the season while the Wildcats dropped to 23-2.

Leading the way for TTU was star forward JT Toppin, who finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, a block and zero turnovers while shooting 13-of-22 from the field. The junior also shot 1-of-3 from 3-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line.

This marked another stellar showing for Toppin, who earned All-American honors in 2024-25 and has notched another impressive year in 2025-26. The Red Raiders' standout is averaging 21.9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 55.3% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc and 56.3% from the free throw line.

Listed at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Toppin's strength and physicality make him a solid interior prescence as a rebounder and scorer on offense. The former New Mexico transfer is a good finisher around the rim, and has solid touch on floaters, turnarounds and other shots from the middle of the paint.

Playing alongside a talented point guard in Christian Anderson, who could be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Toppin has also showcased his talent as a play finisher. Many of Toppin's points come from catching lobs around the rim and knocking down midrange shots after setting screens.

Toppin doesn't have much shooting range beyond the paint at this point in his career, though, which could limit his ceiling in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft. The Dallas-area product had the chance at being a first-round pick in the 2025 class, but elected to return to school.

Toppin wasn't among the top 30 picks in Derek Parker's latest projection for NBA Draft on SI, but could climb back into the first round with strong performances in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments.

The Red Raiders' star has one more year of eligibility, and could also go back to college for another season to try his luck in the 2027 NBA Draft.

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