After a heartbreaking Elite 8 exit, JT Toppin and Texas Tech basketball are back, looking to finish what they started.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Texas Tech basketball.
Just a few years ago, it seemed like Chris Beard would lead this team for the next 40 years after taking them to the national championship game. However, Beard would leave two years later for Texas, and one Mark Adams season was a mess. Grant McCasland has picked up right where they left off. In just his second season, he took this Texas Tech basketball team all the way to the Elite Eight, where they blew a nine-point lead with three minutes left against eventual national champions Florida.
A big reason for their success was the emergence of JT Toppin. Toppin, who transferred in from New Mexico, had a monster year, winning Big 12 POY and earning All-American honors. With him returning for his junior year, this team immediately becomes a tournament threat. Besides him, though, they lose a ton of production from that Elite 8 team, including Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian, who averaged nearly 30 a game combined.
They do bring back Christian Anderson, the freshman who got better and better as the season went along. They’re putting a lot of faith in him taking that step that Toppin did with the extended minutes he’ll get this season.
They bring in a couple of key transfers, including LeJuan Watts, who put up really impressive numbers at Washington State last year. He can score, rebound, and pass, and isn’t a bad defender. Speaking of good defenders, they add Luke Bamgoeye from VCU, who averaged over two blocks a game last year. The bench looks a little weaker than they’d like, but the starting five is so good it more than makes up for it.
This is a team that looks dangerous once again. The Big 12 looks strong again, and they’ll have to bring their A game every night if they want to come out on top.
Head coach: Grant McCasland (3rd season at Texas Tech, 16th season overall)
2024-25 record: 28-9 (15-5)
2025 postseason finish: Lost to Florida in Elite Eight of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Darrion Williams (15.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.6 APG)
- Chance McMillian (14.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 APG)
- Elijah Hawkins (9.1 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.5 RPG)
- Kevin Overton (7.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.9 APG)
- Kerwin Walton (6.0 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.5 APG)
- Federiko Federiko (5.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.7 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- at Illinois (Nov. 11)
- vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 20) – Baha Mar
- vs. Memphis OR Purdue (Nov. 21) – Baha Mar
- vs. LSU (Dec. 7) – Fort Worth, TX
- vs. Arkansas (Dec. 13) – Dallas, TX
- vs. Duke (Dec. 20) – Madison Square Garden
Projected Rotation
PG: Christian Anderson (6-3, 178, So.)
2024-25 stats: 10.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 42.9 FG%, 38.0 3P%, 80.2 FT%
SG: Donovan Atwell (6-5, 200, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 40.2 FG%, 39.8 3P%, 90.6 FT% (UNC Greensboro)
SF: LeJuan Watts (6-6, 225, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 54.9 FG%, 42.2 3P%, 73.4 FT% (Washington State)
PF: JT Toppin (6-9, 230, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 18.2 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.5 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 55.4 FG%, 32.7 3P%, 67.6 FT%
C: Luke Bamgboye (6-11, 220, So.)
2024-25 stats: 3.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, 2.1 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 59.8 FG%, 48.6 FT% (VCU)
6: Tyree Bryan (6-5, 215, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 10.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 46.3 FG%, 42.9 3P%, 65.3 FT% (Santa Clara)
7: Josiah Moseley (6-8, 225, So.)
2024-25 stats: 1.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.1 APG, 57.5 FG%, 66.7 FT% (Villanova)
8: Jaylen Petty (6-1, 168, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #152-ranked recruit
9: Marial Akuentok (6-11, 240, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #124-ranked recruit (2024)
10: Nolan Groves (6-5, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #328-ranked recruit
Texas Tech Basketball team MVP: JT Toppin
JT Toppin was absolutely dominant last year, averaging a near double-double. In February, he had a three-game stretch where he averaged 31.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 2 SPG, and 2 BPG. Insane. In the four tournament games, he averaged 19.3 PPG, 11 RPG, and 2.5 BPG on 59% shooting from the field.
At 6-9, 230, he has great size, and while he can comfortably score in the post, he can also expand his game, making him so difficult to guard. He also grabbed over three offensive rebounds a game, which was in the top 25 in the country last year. Heading into this season, EvanMiya has him ranked as the third-best player in the country and the best player in the Big 12. Hard to disagree with that.
There are a lot of players on this roster that need to step up for them to be great, and Toppin is not one of them. We know he will be a dominant presence and be the best player on the floor in every game he plays next season.
Texas Tech Basketball make-or-break player: Christian Anderson
If you read any college basketball publication, you’ll probably see Christian Anderson as a breakout candidate on a list. For a good reason, too, he had a really promising freshman season. Anderson wasn’t expected to have as big of a role as he did; he wasn’t even a top 100 recruit. However, he proved once conference play began that he is a force to be reckoned with.
It started on Jan. 11 against #3 Iowa State. Anderson played 38 minutes, scoring 18 points. He would continue to be solid, scoring 18 against Cincinnati, 17 against Arizona, and 16 against Oklahoma State. He would also score 22 in the Sweet 16 win against Arkansas.
His best ability, though, is his availability. Anderson averaged 37.8 minutes a game in the NCAA Tournament, including a 44-minute game against Arkansas. In the Big 12 tournament semifinal loss to Arizona, he played all 40 minutes. We know that he’ll be able to stay on the court, and now with a year of experience under his belt, if he can make more out of those minutes, then that raises the ceiling of this team even more.
Key analytic: Assist/Turnover Ratio
Texas Tech boasted the fifth-best assist/turnover ratio in the country last year. They were behind Gonzaga, Iowa, Duke, and Auburn. Not a bad list to be behind (minus Iowa). Now, Elijah Hawkins was a big reason for that, boasting a 6.5-2 ratio, but Anderson had a 2.2-1.0 ratio himself. Lajuan Watts had a 4.4-3.3 ratio last year.
This team doesn’t have that elite pass-first guard like Hawkins, but if they can move the ball without turning the ball over like they did last year, then it’s going to be extremely frustrating for defenses.
Texas Tech Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 5th in the Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Final Four Exit