No. 12 Texas Tech established a new Big 12 program record with a 38-point road win margin and matched a program record with 16 3-pointers in a 93-55 road win over Oklahoma State on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
JT Toppin recorded his second straight 30-plus scoring performance and 10th double-double of the season with 32 points and 12 rebounds after going 12-for-17 from the field and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.
The Red Raiders (20-5, 11-3 Big 12) improved to 6-1 on the road and have now won 20 or more games 18 times in program history after sweeping the regular season series against the Cowboys (12-13, 4-9 Big 12). The team jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead and started the second half on an 8-0 run on its way to the 38-point margin of victory which is the largest Big 12 road victory for Texas Tech in program history and the second largest ever – only behind a 46-point win over TCU back in 2020. The Red Raiders had a 30-point win at Iowa State in 2020 for the previous road margin.
"I was thrilled with the way our guys competed," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "They didn't look at the scoreboard and tried to play the game the right way, regardless of the score. We're playing together and the right way. Our offense is really starting to move the basketball. The last time we played them we got pretty good 3-point looks, but just didn't make them in stretches. Tonight, we did. When we're making 3s, it's a difficult dilemma. I think we have a couple of the best 3-point shooters in the country, some of the best set-up guys in the country and then when you get JT in the middle of that it's a monster. We had it all going."
Toppin, who was coming off a career-high 41 points and 15 rebounds in the 111-106 double-overtime win over Arizona State on Wednesday, is now averaging 17.2 points and 9.1 rebounds this season. It was the first time a Red Raider has scored 30-plus in two straight games since Keenan Evans had 31 against South Carolina and 38 against Texas in 2018. Before this week, Toppin's previous career-high was 27 points and he now has 22 career double-doubles. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Toppin is the first player this season with 30 points and 10 rebounds in two straight games and the first since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin achieved it in 2009.
"We don't want to let up and let them think they have a chance to come back," Toppin said. "I'm staying in the gym and not letting it get to my head. Not getting big-headed. Just getting back into the gym the next day. You can't take a break because you had a good day."
Christian Anderson added 16 points by going 4-for-8 on 3-pointers and Kevin Overton went for 13 points after making three 3-pointers. Elijah Hawkins led Tech with six assists and added 11 points and Chance McMillian scored 10 points and finished with four assists to give the Red Raiders five players scoring in double figures. Darrion Williams was limited to five points but had five assists in a game where Tech had 23 assists on 30-for-62 shooting in the game.
"Our approach is to stay focused, extend the lead as much as we can and never get satisfied," Overton added.
Toppin pushed a 43-24 halftime lead to 24 points with a 3-pointer and layup on the first two possessions of the second half to give him 21 points before Williams pushed the run to 8-0 with a 3-pointer of his own. Tech took a 60-30 lead on an Overton 3-pointer five minutes into the second half and his third of the game pushed the lead to 63-32. The Red Raiders finished the game 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) to match the program record and season-high. Seven players hit 3s, led by Anderson's four while Hawkins was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. McMillian and Kerwin Walton hit two each while Williams and Toppin both made one. OSU was limited to 6-for-17 on 3-pointers along with going just 11-of-21 at the free-throw line and shooting 37.3 percent from the field. Tech made 16 3-pointers in the season-opening win over Bethune-Cookman and also made 16 in a win over Kansas in 2019. It was the ninth time the team shot over 40 percent on 3-pointers this season and is now at 38.4 percent for the season. Along with 3-point accuracy, Tech was 17-for-19 at the free-throw line with McMillian going 4-for-4 and Hawkins, Overton and Anderson going 2-for-2.
"We've got an awesome group," McCasland said. "In order for us to be what we need to be in these games, we have to keep competing with an edge. That's why I just believe that every possession matters, regardless of the score. Our team is embracing that. With that hunter mentality, you're always on edge because someone is coming after you. You aren't comfortable, because win or lose, it's cool. The edge to compete is what this team is starting to embrace."
Texas Tech took a 43-24 lead into halftime after shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) on 3-pointers and going 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. Toppin led the Red Raiders with 16 points and eight rebounds at the break, going 6-for-11 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. He had 18 first-half points in the win over Arizona State for his season-high. Hawkins and Anderson had two 3-pointers and six points each going into the break while McMillian and Overton had one 3-pointer and five points each. OSU was limited to 30.8 percent shooting, including going 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) on 3s and was just 6-of-14 at the line through 20 minutes. Tech made its first early push with a 7-0 run, starting with back-to-back inside shots from Toppin and an Overton 3-pointer for a 10-5 lead. The second run was an 8-0 push, started again by Toppin with a layup before back-to-back 3-pointers from Anderson for a 20-9 lead. The Red Raiders had started the game 4-for-7 on 3s and were up 11 before OSU stopped the run with a free throw, its first 3 of the game and a fastbreak layup to close to withing five. Hawkins' first 3-pointer broke the 6-0 run by the Cowboys and gave Tech a 23-15 lead with eight minutes to play until halftime. Hawkins would come up with a steal and knock down his second 3-pointer for a 26-16 lead before a layup by Overton pushed the lead to 12. Toppin was up to 12 points with another basket for a 13-point lead before a Walton 3-pointer pushed Tech's lead to 39-23. Toppin followed with his sixth make of the first half and then a pair of free throws as Tech's first-half lead swelled to 43-23 with the 9-0 run. Tech went into the break with a 24-14 rebounding advantage and with 11 assists on its 15 makes.
Texas Tech continues its two-game road trip by playing against TCU at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth before hosting West Virgina at noon on Senior Day in United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders earned a 71-57 win over the Horned Frogs back on January 29 at home and will be playing WVU for the first and only time in the regular season. TCU (13-11, 6-7 Big 12) plays at Arizona State tonight at 7 p.m. before hosting Tech next week.
