Texas Tech Athletics
18-5,9-3Big 12
No. 20 Arizona
17-6,11-1Big 12
No. 13 Tech falls at No. 20 Arizona
February 09, 2025 | Men's Basketball
TUCSON, Arizona – No. 13 Texas Tech saw its seven-game winning streak and undefeated road record end with an 82-73 loss to No. 20 Arizona on Saturday at the McKale Memorial Center.
The Red Raiders (18-5, 9-3 Big 12) were outscored 48-28 in the paint and out-rebounded by a 32-29 margin by the Wildcats (17-6, 11- Big 12) who extended a six-game winning streak and avenged a 70-54 loss at Tech on January 18. Arizona led 39-37 at halftime and kept fighting off comeback attempts the Red Raiders in the second half to even the regular-season series between the nationally-ranked teams. Tech was within three with five minutes to play after a Darrion Williams 3-pointer but wouldn't get any closer down the stretch.
"Arizona was more physical than us in every way," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "The way they pushed it in transition, the way they got it into the paint and scored at the basket through us. The way they bullied us with their defense and activity. They basically beat us in every area. I thought they played with such great force over the course of the game. We responded a few times. We just couldn't keep it up because of their effort."
JT Toppin led Texas Tech with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season, while Elijah Hawkins had his fourth double-double of the season with 12 assists and 10 points. The Red Raiders were 12-for-33 on 3-pointers in the game, led by Williams who made a career-high five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Christian Anderson also scored 17 points, going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Williams was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc and also had three steals. Chance McMillian finished the game with eight points and five rebounds. Tech was limited to 37.1 percent shooting from the field and was 9-for-10 at the free-throw line.
Toppin had four offensive rebounds in his 20th career double-double and Hawkins has now recorded 19 games in his career with 10 or more assists. Toppin also led the Red Raiders in the first matchup against Arizona with 20 points and 16 rebounds in the home win. Tech finished the game with 15 assists on 26 makes, forced 14 turnovers and limited its turnovers to only nine. The Red Raiders are now 5-1 on the road after running off road victories over Utah, BYU, Kansas State, Cincinnati and No. 6 Houston. The team has now made 10 or more 3-pointers in 14 games this season and in a season-high four straight games.
Arizona had five players score in double figures in the game with Jaden Bradley and Caleb Love leading the team with 16 points each. Hunter Veesaar and KJ Lewis had 15 each and Tobe Awaka recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats finished the game 30-for-58 (51.7 percent) from the field and went 18-for-23 at the free-throw line to make up for going just 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) on 3-pointers. Both teams finished the night with 12 offensive rebounds.
"I felt a different sense of urgency in this one from their end," McCasland said. "You could tell that this meant a lot to them, defensively by the way they were playing. We were on our heels because of the way they got after us."
Texas Tech returns home to host Arizona State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena before playing at Oklahoma State next Saturday. The Red Raiders come into the first of two matchups against the Sun Devils with a 12-2 record at home this season. Arizona State (12-10, 3-8 Big 12) plays at Oklahoma State on Sunday in Stillwater, Oklahoma before traveling to Lubbock for the midweek game.
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