No. 13 Texas Tech was upset by host Arizona State 72-67 in Tempe on Tuesday night and saw star forward JT Toppin go down due to an injury late in the second half.
Toppin was driving to the basket with 6:03 left when he went down in a heap, holding his right leg. The preseason All-America selection — who came in averaging 21.9 points — needed assistance to limp off the court and didn’t return. He finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland confirmed the injury was to Toppin’s lower leg but wasn’t sure about the severity.
“It’s hard to say until we get it looked at closely,” McCasland said. “But I just know he’s really disappointed. He’s such a competitor. We’ll get back and get him looked at.”
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Texas Tech — coming off a 78-75 overtime win at then-No. 1 Arizona — had a three-game winning streak ended. The Red Raiders were obviously shaken when Toppin left the floor. He sat on the bench for a brief period before going back to the locker room.
It was Arizona State’s first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since beating No. 23 West Virginia 65-57 on Jan. 21, 2025. It was also a big win for embattled coach Bobby Hurley, who has struggled to produce a consistent winner during his 11 years in the desert.
Hurley opened his postgame news conference by sending well wishes to Toppin.
“I hope he’s OK, and I hate to see a guy go out of a game like that. He’s one of the best players in the country,” Hurley said. “My heart goes out to him and hope that he’s back soon for them.”
Texas Tech was trailing 61-56 at the time of the injury and fell behind 67-56 over the next few minutes. The Red Raiders regrouped and pulled to 70-67 in the final seconds, but Christian Anderson turned the ball over, costing them a chance to tie the score with a 3-pointer.
“It knocked us on our heels a little bit,” McCasland said of Toppin’s injury. “But, man, we’ve got a competitve group and found a way to get it to a one-possession game. Gave ourselves a chance late, which is what you want. I told our team that I loved the group that was on the floor at the end and the fight.
“If we had done that for the previous 38, 37 minutes, then we would have put ourselves in better position.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
