KANSAS CITY, MO — Riding a four-game winning streak, No. 9 Texas Tech will take on Arizona in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Friday at T-Mobile Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2, with the Texas Tech Sports Network radio call available on Double T 97.3 and the Varsity app.
The second-seeded Red Raiders (25-7) advanced to their eighth Big 12 semifinal with a 76-74 win over Baylor on Thursday, while third-seeded Arizona (21-11) eliminated Kansas with an 88-77 victory. The two teams split their regular-season meetings, with Texas Tech winning 70-54 in Lubbock (Jan. 18) and Arizona responding with an 82-73 victory in Tucson (Feb. 8).
On the opposite side of the bracket, BYU and Houston will tip off at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal, with the championship game set for 5 p.m. Saturday.
JT Toppin led the Red Raiders with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the quarterfinal win over Baylor, marking his 15th double-double of the season. Elijah Hawkins added 12 points and 11 assists, breaking Texas Tech’s Big 12 Tournament single-game assist record. Tech set a program tournament record with 15 made 3-pointers, hitting 12 in the first half. The Red Raiders have now made 10 or more 3-pointers in a program-record 20 games this season, including 15 or more in five games.
Texas Tech, the No. 2 seed for the third time in program history, is looking to reach its third Big 12 Championship final (previously in 2005, 2022) and win its first-ever Big 12 tournament title. The Red Raiders set program records this season for most Big 12 wins (total and road, 8-2) after being picked seventh in the preseason poll.
On Friday, head coach Grant McCasland was named a Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalist, while Toppin was selected as a Jersey Mike’s Player of the Year semifinalist. Toppin earned Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors, becoming the first player in conference history to win both in the same season.
Texas Tech in action against Arizona State
(Credit: texastech.com)
In the two matchups against Arizona, Toppin has averaged 20.5 points and 14.5 rebounds, while Hawkins has totaled 21 assists with only one turnover. Christian Anderson, Darrion Williams, and Chance McMillian are also averaging double figures in the series.
For Arizona, Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis led the Wildcats with 19 points each in their win over Kansas. Trey Townsend (16 points) and Caleb Love (11 points, six assists) also contributed. The Wildcats were 8-for-18 from 3-point range and 18-of-21 at the free-throw line in the quarterfinals.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Texas Tech and Arizona in the Big 12 Championship after the Wildcats joined the conference this season. The Red Raiders hold a 29-25 all-time series lead after splitting the regular-season matchups.
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