The Red Raiders' star duo of JT Toppin and Christian Anderson combined for 57 points as Texas Tech students were welcomed back to campus with a blowout win.
LUBBOCK - Texas Tech began the spring semester of classes on Wednesday, and in celebrating the return to campus, Grant McCasland and the men's basketball team invited Red Raider Nation to pack the United Supermarkets Arena for a Big 12 matchup against Utah.
Hundreds of students poured into the arena to receive the complementary JT Toppin jerseys that were given to the entire student section before tip-off.
The star big man channeled that support into a showcase performance to finish with 31 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks as the Red Raiders beat the Utes 88-74 to improve to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Alongside the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year was one of the nation's top guards in Christian Anderson, who was finding his teammates at will for a 26-point, 10-assist double-double.
This was Toppin's 11th double-double this season (and sixth in consecutive games) for the 15th-ranked Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders countered the Utes' aerial assault with one of their own as both teams combined for 25 three-pointers (13 for Tech, 12 for Utah) on over 40 percent shooting.
The long-range marksmanship came from Donovan Atwell (4) and Anderson (6), who combined to nail 10 of Tech's 13 triples.
Texas Tech found its biggest advantage, however, on the interior as Toppin was an efficient 14 for 23 from the field.
Oh yeah, he knocked down three of his four attempts from downtown, too.
As a whole, Tech outscored Utah 36-24 in the paint and outrebounded the Utes by 13.
Toppin's big night could arguably stack up as one of the most impactful stat lines of any player this season. According to CBB Analytics, he is the only Division I player to accumulate at least 31/13/7/5 in a single game this year.
The junior Toppin is in his second season with the Red Raiders after transferring in from New Mexico ahead of last season, where he guided Tech to an Elite Eight berth.
Wednesday was his 30th double-double in 49 games played since joining the Red Raiders.
He'll look to continue tearing through the Big 12 as Texas Tech plays No. 11 BYU and NBA Draft lottery talent AJ Dybantsa in Lubbock on Saturday.
Dybantsa, the No. 1-ranked high school prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, is expected to be a top-five draft selection as he's showed freak athleticism and versatility this season. He's averaging 22.9 points for the 15-1 Cougars, who play in Provo against TCU on Wednesday night.