Anderson, McCasland advance to U19 World Cup quarterfinals
July 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Christian Anderson and Grant McCasland advanced to the FIBA U19 World Cup quarterfinals with a pair of wins on Wednesday to begin the Knockout Stage of the tournament in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Anderson dished out 12 assists to go along with adding eight points and two steals in a 92-83 win over Serbia in the Round of 16. His 12 assists matched the fourth most in a U19 World Cup game and he currently leads the tournament with 6.8 assists per game and is also averaging 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds through four games. With McCasland as an assistant coach, the USA ran away with a 140-67 decision over Jordan, setting a record for points by a USA U19 team. Germany and the USA are now both 4-0 and two wins away from setting up a matchup between the two teams in the championship game on Sunday.
"My teammates make it easy for me," said Anderson after his 12-assist performance a game after going for 29 points in a win over Canada. "We have a bunch of dominant players that I can pass to and they finish the shot. It just makes my job easy. It feels good to have 12 assists. It's probably the most I have had in my career. We all know how to share the ball. We have all played together for a long time so we know each other's strengths and where to find each other. Our chemistry is unmatched."
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Germany will play Australia while the USA takes on Canada.
Anderson is coming off a freshman season at Texas Tech where he earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors after averaging 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is listed as the second-best prospect in the tournament on the FIBA website. An Atlanta, Georgia native, Anderson holds dual citizenship with his father originally from Germany. He scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and finished the season tied for the team-high with 71 made 3-pointers. In conference play, Anderson averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.2 percent from beyond the arc. Â
McCasland has led Texas Tech to a 51-20 record over his first two season in Lubbock and is in his second year serving as an assistant coach for Team USA. Last summer, McCasland helped Team USA to the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup Championship in Argentina before he led Tech to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Earlier this summer, McCasland signed a six-year extension which has him leading the Red Raiders through the 2030-31 season.
Fans can follow and find more information about the U19 World Cup here.
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