No. 10 Texas Tech closes the regular season at BYU as Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell lead the Red Raiders into the Big 12 Tournament.
No. 10 Texas Tech basketball heads into the final day of the Big 12 regular season with plenty still at stake — and a dangerous road test waiting in Provo.
The Red Raiders travel to face BYU on Saturday night at the Marriott Center, looking to bounce back from a 73-65 loss to TCU while building momentum heading into the Big 12 Tournament. Texas Tech enters the matchup at 22-8 overall and 12-5 in conference play, sitting third in the Big 12 standings.
Meanwhile, BYU comes in at 20-10 and 8-9 in the conference and is desperate to stop a three-game skid.
Even with the recent loss, Texas Tech remains one of the hottest teams in the country and climbed back to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Red Raiders have now appeared in the AP rankings for a program-record 26 straight weeks.
Much of Tech’s success has been powered by one of the most explosive backcourts in college basketball.
Guard Christian Anderson has been sensational, averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 assists per game, the latter leading the Big 12 and ranking among the best marks nationally.
Anderson, a Wooden Award and Naismith Player of the Year watch list candidate, is also closing in on the Texas Tech single-season assist record after racking up 224 assists so far.
Alongside him, Donovan Atwell has become one of the most dangerous shooters in the country.
Atwell has buried a staggering 115 3-pointers this season, the second-most in the nation and a new Texas Tech single-season record. He’s shooting an incredible 45.8 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 13.3 points per game.
Together, Anderson and Atwell have helped turn Texas Tech into one of the most lethal perimeter teams in college basketball. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in 3-point production with 11.5 made threes per game and rank near the top nationally in effective field goal percentage.
Despite those weapons, Tech will be without one of its biggest stars.
Forward JT Toppin, last season’s Big 12 Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending injury in February. Before going down, Toppin was averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and had already recorded 16 double-doubles.
BYU will counter with its own offensive firepower.
Freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa leads the Big 12 in scoring at 24.8 points per game, while Robert Wright adds 18.4 points and 4.7 assists.
For Texas Tech, the objective is clear ... finish strong, sharpen the offense, and carry momentum into Kansas City next week.