LSU will put its unbeaten record on the line against No. 19 Texas Tech on a neutral floor Sunday in the Coast-to-Coast Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
TCU will meet North Texas in the other game of the event’s doubleheader at Dickies Arena.
LSU (8-0) is coming off a 78-69 overtime win at Boston College on Wednesday. Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 23 points to lead the Tigers, while Marquel Sutton had an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double, and Mike Nwoko and Max Mackinnon added 12 points each.
Thomas hit a layup and then two free throws and Nwoko added a jumper to start the overtime scoring as LSU went on to outscore Boston College 17-8 in the extra period. It was the Tigers’ second straight win over a high-major team after starting the year with six victories (five of them at home) over mid-major opponents.
LSU is off to the best start in coach Matt McMahon’s four seasons at the helm.
“This was big for us. This was the first real adversity we faced this season being down (four with 1:09) to go on the road,” McMahon said. “I just can’t say enough about our players’ poise and composure. All the momentum was going BC’s way with a minute to go. Found a way to get it to the extra frame and then really a dominant performance in the overtime period.”
It was the Tigers’ second game without forward Jalen Reed, who suffered a torn left Achilles in the team’s win over Drake on Nov. 28. Reed will miss the rest of the season.
The Red Raiders (6-2) have won two straight since falling to No. 1 Purdue on Nov. 21, the latest a 76-72 decision at home over Wyoming on Nov. 30. JT Toppin led Texas Tech with 27 points and nine rebounds in the victory while LeJuan Watts had 19 points and Christian Anderson finished with 15.
Toppin scored 15 of his points in the first half while Anderson’s three-point play with 2:21 left helped secure the gritty win. Texas Tech never led by more than six points after halftime.
Despite the victory, Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said his team came out “too casual,” and opined that its level of competitiveness (or lack thereof) was directly tied to its offensive output.
“We’re too worried about what we’re doing on the offensive end, and we’re letting that dictate how we play defensively,” McCasland said. “So until we find a level of grit to come out here and compete, we’re going to be in these types of games, and it’s going to catch up to us at some point.
“I don’t mean this negatively on some of the new guys, but some of the new guys look at me and they’re not real sure exactly the urgency, how they need to play,” McCasland added. “And so they’re trying to figure it out.”
Toppin enters Sunday’s game averaging 22.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Either Toppin (five times) or Anderson (three) has led the Red Raiders in scoring in every game.
–Field Level Media
