No. 16 Texas Tech expects another battle to wire with Colorado
In a league where no game is a layup, No. 16 Texas Tech can't afford a letdown to maintain any hope of staying in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Big 12 Conference.
That fact, plus the memory of last month's meeting in Colorado, provides plenty of motivation as the Red Raiders get back to work Wednesday night against the Buffaloes in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech (17-6, 7-3 Big 12) takes on a Colorado team that has won two of its last three games following a six-game losing streak.
Colorado's nosedive began with a 73-71 loss Jan. 10 at home to Texas Tech. The Buffs (14-10, 4-7) roared back from a 24-point second-half deficit, but Barrington Hargress' game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
"We're focused on what Colorado has done to get better since we played them because they almost came back and got us on a day when we played well most of the game," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "They've played really well offensively and have a lot of different players who can make you pay if you're not locked in defensively."
Texas Tech avoided a three-game losing streak for the first time since the 2023-24 season with a 70-63 win Sunday at West Virginia.
The Red Raiders got back to the things that have been strengths all season: shooting the ball well from beyond the arc and defending the Mountaineers well most of the day.
Sparked by Donovan Atwell's hot hand, Texas Tech knocked down 8 of 11 3-point attempts in the first half on the way to connecting on 13 of 24 -- the 18th time this season the Red Raiders made double-digit threes. The accuracy was just as vital, though: Texas Tech hit at a 54.2% clip from deep after going 12 of 40 vs. Kansas and 11 of 29 against UCF.
That contrast figures to be important in the rematch with Colorado. The Red Raiders are among the Big 12 leaders in 3-point shooting -- they rank second at 39.1% with more makes (264) and attempts (675) than any other team -- while the Buffs are last in 3-point defense at 36.9%.
Colorado nabbed a 78-70 victory Saturday against Arizona State with some of the same ingredients that helped the Buffs get off to 8-0 and 12-3 starts this season. They took care of the ball, with only 10 turnovers, and were strong on the backboards with a 40-26 edge on the glass.
"We did some good things because we had a really good practice the day before," said longtime Buffs coach Tad Boyle. "These are the dog days of February for college basketball players. Guys get tired of practicing, but what young guys have to understand is that practice does matter and we play better and are a different team when we practice well."
The Buffs will need to hone in on the Red Raiders' top two scorers, J.T. Toppin and Christian Anderson. Toppin provides 21.8 points (third in the Big 12) and a conference-best 10.5 rebounds per game while Anderson, who was full strength at West Virginia after missing the Kansas loss with an illness, averages 19.3 points and a Big-12 best 7.7 assists.
Texas Tech's defensive focus will be on freshman Isaiah Johnson, who leads Colorado with 16.3 points per game. He struggled through a 3-for-11 shooting night against the Red Raiders in the first meeting, but he keyed the Buffs' 44-30 second-half surge by scoring all of his 21 points after halftime -- buoyed by a 13-for-13 effort from the free-throw line.