LUBBOCK – No. 13 Texas Tech returns to its home court to host Arizona State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena before playing at Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in a pair of Big 12 games this week.
The Red Raiders (18-5, 9-3 Big 12) are surging in national prominence having won eight of their last 10 games but are looking to respond after having a seven-game winning streak end with an 82-73 loss at No. 20 Arizona on Saturday night on the road. Tech, which is 12-2 at home this season and now 5-1 on the road, is off to its best 12-game conference start in program history playing in the Big 12 and is currently third in the standings behind only Houston and Arizona who are both 11-1 coming into this week. The team was ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll last week and is at No. 9 in the Kenpom rating and No. 10 in the NCAA NET following the loss in Tucson. Updated national polls come out at noon on Monday. The Sun Devils (12-11, 3-9 Big 12) took an 86-73 loss at Oklahoma State on Sunday in Stillwater, Oklahoma and have now lost three straight.
Statistically, Texas Tech is second in the Big 12 by shooting 38.0 percent on 3-pointers and with 9.6 3-pointers per game after making 12 at Arizona which was the 14th time this season with 10 or more. The Red Raiders are also second with a 55.7 effective field goal percentage, third by scoring 80.7 points per game and also rank third at the free-throw line at 76.5 percent after going 17-for-20 in their past two games (9-for-10 at Arizona). The team is second in the conference and 23rd in the nation with a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth in the Big 12 by shooting 47.7 percent from the field and by limiting opponents to 65.9 points per game. Tech has held seven opponents under 60 points this season, including five in Big 12 games.
Chance McMillian and JT Toppin are both averaging 15.2 points per game to lead the team while Darrion Williams is scoring 14.8 points per game to give the Red Raider three players averaging in double figures coming into the week. Elijah Hawkins leads the Big 12 with 6.3 assists per game after a season-high 12 at Arizona and is on a four-game streak of double-figure scoring to take his season average up to 9.6 points per game. Hawkins has 133 assists and only 42 turnovers this season after recording his fourth double-double of the season in a game at Arizona where he had 12 assists, 10 points and only one turnover. Toppin notched his team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds at Arizona and is now third in the conference in rebounding and tied with McMillian for seventh in scoring.
Texas Tech is averaging 12,629 fans this season which is the best throughout the state of Texas, fifth best in the Big 12 and ranks 24th nationally. The Red Raiders have been supported by two sell-outs (15,098) including last week in the 73-59 win over Baylor and the home matchup against Arizona.
The matchup between Texas Tech and Arizona State will be the first as Big 12 foes and the first meeting since 2013. The Red Raiders own a 22-19 advantage in the all-time series with the two programs first meeting on January 9, 1934 with Tech coming up with a 30-22 win in Tempe. Texas Tech is 16-4 on its home court against Arizona State but has not hosted the Sun Devils since a loss on December 22, 2012. ASU has won six straight in the series, most recently a 76-62 win back on December 21, 2013 in Tempe.
GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: Arizona State (12-11, 3-9) at No. 13 Texas Tech (18-5, 9-3)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Venue: United Supermarkets Arena
Tip: 8 p.m., Wednesday, February 12, 2025
TV: CBS Sports Network
TV CALL: Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Mike O’Donnell (analyst)
TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK: Geoff Haxton (play-by-play), Chris Level (analyst)
Grant McCasland is now 252-105 (70.6%) in his NCAA career, including his Texas Tech records of 41-16 overall (57 games – 71.9%), 20-10 in Big 12 games, 27-4 at home and 9-7 in true road games. McCasland has also been the head coach at Midwestern State (56-12 record / 2 seasons), Arkansas State (20-12 / 1 season) and North Texas (135-65 / 6 seasons). Along with coaching Texas Tech, McCasland is also an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team which won the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup last summer in Buenos Aires and will compete in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup from June 28-July 6 this summer in Lausanne, Switzerland. Last season, McCasland led Tech to six wins over ranked opponents and is now 7-8 against AP Top 25 teams as the Red Raider head coach. McCasland’s roster has 13 players on it this season, including two fifth-year seniors (McMillian, Kerwin Walton), two seniors (Hawkins, Federiko Federiko), three juniors (Jack Francis, Corbin Green, Williams), three sophomores (Overton, Toppin, Yalaho) and three freshmen (Anderson, Jazz Henderson, Leon Horner).
McMillian leads the Big 12 and is 11th nationally by shooting 44.1 percent on 3-pointers for the season and is also 52.6 percent from the field and 85.7 percent at the free-throw line. He had a streak of six straight games scoring in double figures snapped at Arizona, finishing with eight points after going 1-for-6 on 3-pointers. He has now made at least one 3-pointer in 22 of 23 games this season and is 56-for-127 from beyond the arc. McMillian, who had five rebounds against Arizona and has 100 total this season (4.3 per), was coming off a game against Baylor where he went 5-for-11 on 3-pointers and a team-high 19 points – the five 3s matched his season-high for 3s made. He is tied with Toppin for the team led in scoring at 15.2 points per game which ranks seventh in the Big 12. He matched a season-high with 23 points at Houston where he made two 3-pointers and was 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. McMillian had scored in double figures in six straight games for the second time this season, a streak that started with 14 points in the first matchup against Arizona. He’s led Tech in scoring in five games this season and has scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games this year and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 2.43 3-pointers made per game and his 56 total 3-pointers. He has scored 20 or more points in eight games in his career after also having a three-game streak which was capped by 20 points against ORU where he went 8-for-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He made five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high/season-high 23 points in the loss against Texas A&M after he had led Tech with 22 points in the win over DePaul. He leads Tech by playing 33:41 minutes per game with a season-high 42:38 at Houston, 42:32 against Iowa State where he had 18 points and eight rebounds in the overtime loss and played 36 minutes at Arizona. Last season, McMillian averaged 10.8 points per game and was 65-for-168 (38.7 percent) on 3-pointers in his first season as a Red Raider where he recorded 18 double-figure scoring performances that included a career-high 27 points at Oklahoma where he went 6-for-8 on 3-pointers. A California native, he scored 17 points in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal win over BYU and had 15 points against Houston in the semifinals. McMillian was selected as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week twice during the season, the first time against going off for 24 points at Butler where he went 8-for-10 on 3-pointers. He finished the year 40-for-44 at the free-throw line, including going 26-for-28 in conference play. McMillian has made three or more 3s in 10 games this season and is currently 230-for-563 (40.9 percent) on 3-pointers in his career. He enters the 24th game of the year with 1,377 points, 223 assists, 96 steals, 461 rebounds and 68 double-figure scoring performances through 147 games played in his career. McMillian leads Tech with 14.2 points per Big 12 game this season.
Toppin recorded his 20th career double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds (12 points/8 rebounds by halftime) in the loss at Arizona and is now averaging 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season. The Naismith Hall of Fame nominated him as one of 10 power forwards in the nation for the Karl Malone Award and he now has scored 20 or more in seven games this season and 10 in his career. He ranks third in the Big 12 in rebounding, is tied with McMillian for seventh in scoring, and is fourth by shooting 54.1 percent from the field. Toppin had one blocked shot at Arizona and is now averaging 1.1 blocks per game – ranking 12th in the conference. Against Arizona, Toppin was 9-for-21 from the field for a career-high in field goal attempts. Toppin has eight double-doubles this season, previously recording his seventh of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds in the win over TCU along with matching a career-high by adding three assists. A sophomore forward, Toppin had scored 20 points in two straight games after going for 20 points in the wins over Arizona and Cincinnati before being held to eight points and one rebound in the win against Oklahoma State. He recorded his 18th career double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds against Arizona in the home victory with six offensive rebounds in the first matchup. He’s also currently sixth in the Big 12 with 2.95 offensive rebounds per game after having four at Arizona. Toppin is at 8.9 rebounds per game in his career which ranks sixth best nationally on the active charts and his 20 career double-doubles are the 43rd most – despite him only being a sophomore. He has scored in double figures in 14 of 19 games played this season and has seven or more rebounds in 13 games. Toppin missed the final four non-conference games before returning to the court against UCF to record his fifth double-double of the season (17th career) where he finished with a season-high 26 points, 10 rebounds and matched a season-best with four blocked shots. He had missed the four straight games against Lamar, ORU, Texas A&M and DePaul with a lower body injury before returning to the starting lineup to begin conference play. In his last game played against Northern Colorado before the injury, he recorded his fourth double-double of the season and 16th of his career with 15 rebounds and 11 points in the win. Toppin was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after the trip to Brooklyn in a three-game week where he had two double-doubles and averaged 17.0 points and 11.7 rebounds. He capped the award-winning week with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots against Syracuse after recording his 15th career double-double by going for 22 points and a career-high 18 rebounds against Saint Joseph’s. He was on a streak of three straight double-doubles after also going for 14 points and 11 rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Lubbock after dropping 24 points on Wyoming to go along with 12 rebounds for his 13th career double-double. His 12 offensive rebounds against Saint Joseph’s were the second most in Texas Tech program history – only behind Will Flemons who had 15 against Houston on February 14, 1990. Against UAPB, he was 10-for-15 from the field for his second straight game with 10 makes. He’s currently 118-for-218 (54.1 percent) from the field this season after also having games on his resume of 10-for-11 from the field against Northwestern State after an 8-for-12 shooting performance against Bethune-Cookman. Toppin transferred to Tech after being named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year last season following a freshman season at New Mexico where he averaged 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds. He also provided 68 blocked shots, 38 steals and recorded 12 double-doubles which was tied for the 38th most in the nation. A Dallas native, Toppin returned to his home state after a freshman season where he recorded 23 double-figure scoring performances in 35 games. His first career double-double came with 15 points and 10 rebounds against UT Arlington and was highlighted by him going for a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds against Toledo. Averaging 1.9 blocks per game as a freshman, he had a career-best five blocks in games against San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV. He also had 25 points and 13 rebounds at Air Force and 21 points at Boise State. His 12th double-double of the season came with him going off for 13 points and 11 rebounds against San Diego State in the MWC tournament. Toppin finished his first collegiate season going 193-for-310 (62.3 percent) from the field with 11 3-pointers. He was ranked No. 12 in ESPN’s transfer rankings and was the third-best transfer still available when he signed on May 28. Toppin comes into the matchup against Arizona State with 10 career games of 20-plus point scoring performances, 37 double-figure scoring games and 734 total points through 55 career games played. His 20 career double-doubles leads Tech and his eight this season are the fourth most in the conference.
Williams made a career-high five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points at Arizona on Saturday night. He is now averaging 14.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. The USBWA has identified Williams as a candidate for the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (1 of 50 nationally). He was 5-for-11 on 3-pointers against the Wildcats and has now made 28 3s this season. Williams also scored 17 points and added eight rebounds in the win over Baylor earlier in the week after providing 13 points, three steals, three assists, four rebounds and matched a career-high with three blocks in the win at Houston. Williams was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line against Baylor and has now scored 15 or more points in 13 games this season after back-to-back 17-point performances. He now has 48 career games scoring in double figures with 18 this season. A junior in his second season at Texas Tech, Williams missed his only game this season against TCU with a lower body injury before playing 34 minutes at Houston where he nailed the game-tying 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. A starter in 55 games in his two seasons at Texas Tech, he had scored in double figures in 14 straight games after leading the Red Raiders with 16 points in the win at K-State following going for 15 points, six rebounds and two assists against Iowa State. Williams was 7-for-15 from the field against K-State with one 3-pointer and made his final basket with 17 seconds remaining to push the lead to four. At Utah, he had 19 points and nine assists which was his sixth game with 19 or more points this season and his fourth game with eight or more assists before scoring 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting at BYU. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week after going off for a season-high 23 points in the win over Lamar along with providing nine assists against ORU in the two games leading into conference play. It was his second Big 12 Player of the Week honor in his career after winning it in the final week last season. His season-best 23 points against Lamar came with him matching a previous career-high by making four 3-pointers. He had produced 20-plus points in three straight games after going for 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win over DePaul along with scoring a team-high/season-high 21 points against Northern Colorado to go along with 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the 11th of his career. In Brooklyn, he earned Legends Classic All-Tournament honors after leading the Red Raiders with a season-high 20 points against Syracuse in a game where he also had six rebounds and three assists. The 20-point performances in a career-best three straight games against Syracuse, Northern Colorado and DePaul gives him three this season and four in his career. He recorded a career-high 11 assists and nearly became the third Red Raider in history to have a triple-double after adding eight points and eight rebounds in the win over Northwestern State. Williams is Tech’s leading returner from last year’s roster with 11.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and nine double-doubles after a sophomore season where he earned All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team honors. He made 33 starts last season, scoring in double-figures in 19, including a program-best performance where he went 12-for-12 from the field and scored 30 points in a 79-50 home win over No. 6 Kansas. A Sacramento, California native who played his freshman season at Nevada, he finished his first season at Tech shooting 131-for-265 (49.4 percent) from the field and 44-for-96 (45.8 percent) on 3-pointers along with providing 82 assists, 38 steals and 11 blocked shots. In Big 12 play last season, Williams averaged 13.1 points per game and was 23-for-44 on 3-pointers which is the second best in program history for percentage at a 52.3 percent. He established a career-high with 14 rebounds in a non-conference win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and had his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Baylor in the regular-season finale. His 19th double-figure scoring performance of his sophomore season came with 10 points against NC State in the NCAA Tournament. Williams comes into the matchup against Arizona State with 954 points, 606 rebounds and 261 assists through 88 career games.
Hawkins leads the Big 12 with 6.3 assists per game after a season-high 12 at Arizona where he added 10 points to record his fourth double-double of the season and the 14th of his career. He is currently 11th nationally with his assist average and is third in the Big 12 with a 3.17 assist-to-turnover ratio after his performance at Arizona where only committed one turnover in the 12-assist game. Hawkins now has 19 career double-figure assist games in his career and has 721 career assists which ranks fourth most among all active NCAA players. His 6.38 assist average is the third best in the nation for career percentages. Hawkins is also averaging 9.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in four straight games after also providing 13 points in the win over Baylor, 17 at Houston and 13 against TCU. At Houston, he was 4-for-7 on 3-pointers and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line and followed it by making three 3-pointers and adding seven assists against Baylor. He was coming off a game against TCU where he also scored 13 points and led the team with five assists. A senior point guard in his first season at Texas Tech, Hawkins dished out nine assists in the home win over Arizona in the first matchup following his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 assists at Kansas State. Hawkins now has 19 career games with 10 or more assists and has posted 84 assists and only 20 turnovers in Big 12 games this season. His 10 assists at K-State included the final possession where he found Williams who made a layup to extend the lead to four with 17 seconds remaining after he had put Tech up two with a layup of his own. Hawkins, who was 2-for-2 at the free-throw line at Arizona, is now shooting 47-for-52 (90.4 percent) from the charity stripe and is 32-for-97 on 3-pointers this season. He had recorded his 17th career game with double-digit assists after contributing 10 assists with zero turnovers against Iowa State in an overtime game where he also had seven points. Among active NCAA career leaders, he also ranks 31st with 1.79 steals per game, 28th with 202 career steals and 29th with a 1.94 assist-to-turnover ratio through 113 career games. He scored a season-high 22 points with a career-best six 3-pointers at BYU after recording the 12th double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 assists in the win against Utah. Hawkins has scored in double figures in 10 of 21 games played this season with his four straight coming into this week. For his career, Hawkins is 166-for-454 (36.6 percent) on 3-pointers with a previous career-high five 3-pointers made last season against Coppin State. He had recorded his 11th career double-double and first of this season against UAPB after providing 11 assists, 10 points and five steals in his first start as a Red Raider. He made his Texas Tech debut by going for a team-high five assists and adding seven points in just under 13 minutes of play against Wyoming and has recorded three or more assists in every game he’s played this season. A Washington, D.C. native, Hawkins was second nationally last season with 7.5 assists per game at Minnesota where he also averaged 9.5 points and had six double-doubles as an All-Big 10 honorable mention selection before transferring to Texas Tech to play his final season. Hawkins scored a career-high 24 points against Ohio State last season and had a 17-assist performance against IU Indy in a non-conference win for his career-best. He began his collegiate career with two seasons at Howard before playing one at Minnesota. Last season, he had eight games with double-figure assists, including dishing out 15 assists and scoring 11 points in a win over Butler in the NIT and also having double-doubles against Nebraska (12p/11a), Maine (12p/10a), Northwestern (13p/10a) at home, Illinois (12a/10p) and at Northwestern (14p/10a). He has a team-high 69 games with double-figure scoring performances in his career. Hawkins currently has 1,278 points, 721 assists and 202 steals through 113 games played in his career. At BYU, in his season-high scoring performance, Hawkins was 7-for-12 from the field and 6-for-9 on 3-pointers (career-high) to give him 22 points. He scored 13 of those 22 points in the second half where he was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Hawkins comes into the matchup against Arizona State with 312 made free throws in his career and as the team’s leader with 72 double-figure scoring performances in his career.
Anderson had one of his top Big 12 performances of the season at Arizona where he scored 17 points after going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. The true freshman is now averaging 9.5 points per game which is the fifth best among the conference’s first-year players and is shooting 38-for-95 (40.0 percent) from 3-point range this season. He led the Tech reserves against Houston in scoring after providing 10 points in the road win over the Cougars where he was 5-for-7 at the free-throw line and made one 3-pointer before contributing three steals, three points, two assists and three rebounds against Baylor. He’s currently 18th in the Big 12 with 1.43 steals per game this season after one at Arizona. His three steals against the Bears earlier in the week were the fifth game with three or more. He had scored in double figures for the seventh time this season after going off for 18 points and matching a career-high with four 3-pointers at Cincinnati along with producing 10 points in the first matchup against Arizona where he was 2-for-4 on 3-pointers and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. In Big 12 play, he’s now averaging 9.8 points per conference game and has made 22 3-pointers in those 12 games. Anderson has 11 games with two or more 3s this season. He also scored 18 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range against Iowa State and followed it by contributing eight points and a career-high six rebounds in the road win at K-State. He played a career-high 37:48 in his reserve role against Iowa State and also finished with two assists and two steals. Anderson scored a career-high 20 points against Lamar after going 8-for-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range in the non-conference finale before leading Tech with five assists against UCF. He is now shooting 65-for-144 (45.1 percent) overall and 31-of-40 (77.5 percent) at the free-throw line. His 20 points against Lamar marked the third double-figure scoring performance of his season after he also recorded 11 points against ORU and a previous career-high 12 points against Northern Colorado where he was 4-for-6 on 3-pointers. Through 21 games played (after missing the first two of the season with a lower body injury), he already has five games with four assists and seven with three or more. He made his collegiate debut against Wyoming where he scored nine points and contributed four assists and three steals in over 25 minutes of play as a reserve. Anderson missed the first two games of the season with a lower body injury but made his presence felt early with a 3-pointer for his first points and finished the night against Wyoming shooting 4-for-7 from the field. He signed with Texas Tech on May 21, 2024, as a four-star recruit following one season at Oak Hill Academy where he averaged 19.1 points and 4.6 assists per game. Originally a Michigan signee, Anderson opened his recruitment and joined the Red Raiders who he practiced with in June before going overseas in July to lead Germany to the 2024 FIBA U18 Eurobasket Championship this season. He averaged 20.3 points and 5.0 assists per game in the tournament, including going off for 31 points and five assists in the finals against Serbia. An Atlanta, Georgia native, Anderson played at The Lovett School where he averaged 23.7 points in his high school career with 2,038 points. As a junior at The Lovett School, before Oak Hill, Anderson averaged 26.1 points and 4.1 assists with three games of 40 or more points. Anderson has made four 4-pointers in three games this season and comes into the home game against Arizona State with 199 total points, 44 total assists, 54 rebounds and 30 steals this season.
Walton was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the second half at Houston and finished the game with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range in the game. He is now 10th nationally in active 3-point percentage at 42.5 percent (198-for-466) in his career after going 1-for-3 against Baylor and 0-for-1 at Arizona last week. He is currently 29-for-71 (40.8 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Through 23 games, all as a starter, he is averaging 4.6 points per game. Walton opened this season with a career-high seven 3-pointers and led the Red Raiders with 21 points in the season-opening win over Bethune-Cookman. He’s made three or more 3-pointers in four games this season and two or more in eight games. His 21 points in the opener marked his second career game with 20 or more points in his career only being surpassed by his career-best 22-point performance last season against Omaha. The seven 3-pointers were the most for a Red Raider since McMillian made eight last season at Butler and two off from Alan Voskuil’s program record of nine against Kansas back on March 4, 2009. A Minnesota native, Walton averaged 8.5 points per game last season and finished 65-for-136 (47.8 percent) from beyond the arc. His percentage was second nationally and second in program history. He scored a career-high 22 points in a non-conference win over Omaha where he was 6-for-7 on 3-pointers and 8-for-9 from the field. In Big 12 play, Walton started all 18 games last season with a pair of 18-point scoring performances in road games at Houston and UCF. He finished the season with 11 double-figure scoring performances with 12 points against BYU in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal win in Kansas City. He had eight games with three or more 3s, with a 3-for-4 outing against NC State in the NCAA Tournament First Round being the final one. Starting his career with two seasons at North Carolina, Walton has now played 83 games with 56 starts at Texas Tech where he is 117-for-263 (44.5 percent) from 3-point range as a Red Raider. He comes into the game against Arizona State with 825 points through 143 career games played.
Overton had a season-high seven rebounds against Baylor and is averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He produced 14 points and five rebounds in the win over Cincinnati where he was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers before scoring seven in the wins over TCU and Oklahoma State. Overton scored two points in the win over Baylor where he had those seven rebounds but did not score or have a rebound at Arizona. A lead reserve, in his sophomore season, he contributed nine points against UCF in the Big 12 opener, eight points and five rebounds in the win at Utah and then finished with five points and four rebounds against BYU. He also provided 17 points against Lamar and Texas A&M and is the second leading scorer off the bench for the Red Raiders. He also scored a season-high 20 points against Northern Colorado and has six double-figure scoring performances. In his first season at Texas Tech, his 20-point production was the fourth time in his young career with 20 or more points. He also had six rebounds against Lamar to match a season-high and had six straight games with five or more rebounds going before having two against UCF. Overton also scored 19 points in a game against Northwestern State where he was 8-for-9 from the free-throw line after 10 points in his only appearance from the starting lineup in his Red Raider debut against Bethune-Cookman. Overton joined the Texas Tech program this season after a freshman year at Drake where he provided 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a starter in 35 games (29.9 minutes per game). An Oklahoma City native, he scored in double figures in 19 games with a career-high 23 points coming against Murray State in his freshman season. Overton finished his first collegiate season shooting 62-for-179 on 3-pointers and contributed 21 steals. He scored 20 or more points in three games with 22 against Oakland and 21 against Saint Louis before his 23-point performance against Murray State where he was 8-for-11 from the field with five 3-pointers. Overton played one prep season at Sunrise Christian in Kansas before beginning his collegiate career. He has 580 points, 201 rebounds and 26 double-figure scoring performances through 57 games in his collegiate career. For his career, Overton has made 87 3-pointers and is 200-for-450 from the field.
Federiko provided eight points and four rebounds (three offensive) in the win over Baylor after a huge block against Houston at the end of regulation to force overtime in a game where he finished with six rebounds (three offensive). At Arizona, he had one blocked shot but did not score or have a rebound. He now has 22 offensive rebounds in the past seven games and 54 for the season – 2.57 per game which ranks 12th best in the Big 12. A senior from Finland, he also led Tech with eight rebounds (four offensive) in the win over Oklahoma State and is now averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season. He had a season-high six offensive rebounds against ORU in non-conference play and five in the home win over Arizona. He provided nine points and led Tech with seven rebounds in the road win at K-State where he shot 4-for-5 from the field before going for eight rebounds and eight points (4-for-4 on free throws) against Arizona. He also led the Tech reserves with 14 points and added three rebounds in the road win at Utah where he shot 7-for-9 from the field. Federiko had a career night against Oral Roberts in non-conference play, going for a career-best 23 points and adding 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the third in his career. He missed the Lamar game with an upper body injury before returning for Big 12 play. He was 11-for-13 (84.6 percent) from the field against ORU and also finished the game with a career-high five assists and six offensive rebounds. It was his first game in double-figure scoring as a Red Raider and came in his third start of the season. Federiko provided seven points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals against Texas A&M. He began this season going 9-for-9 after making his only shot against Saint Joseph’s before going 1-for-3 against Syracuse and 2-for-3 against Northern Colorado where he finished with five points and three assists. Against Texas A&M, Federiko was 3-for-3 from the field. He had previously scored a season-high eight points for the first time in the win over Wyoming where he was 4-for-4 from the field. The tallest Red Raider on the roster at 6-foot-11, he is a senior in his first and final season at Texas Tech following two years at Pitt. A Finland native, Federiko is coming off a season where he averaged 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and had 43 blocked shots as a starter in 26 games. He had a career-high 22 points against North Florida last season and finished with eight games in double-figure scoring as a sophomore and two last season. In 2022-23, he went for 13 points and eight points at Florida State and produced his only double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds against Sacred Heart. Last season, he had a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks against North Carolina A&T. As a sophomore, Federiko recorded 18 games with two or more blocks, including having four blocks in games against Miami, Vanderbilt and North Carolina before having six games with three or more blocks last season. Federiko was a NJCAA All-America as a freshman at Northern Oklahoma. He now has 525 points, 464 rebounds, 120 blocks and 13 double-figure scoring performances through 89 games at the NCAA level.
Yalaho came up with the defensive stop against Houston in overtime to force a traveling call in the final seconds to secure the win and finished the game with four points and four rebounds. Yalaho did not play against Baylor or Arizona – coach’s decision. A sophomore from Finland, he made his first career start and scored a career-high 13 points in the win over Lamar after going 5-for-8 from the field, including 2-of-2 on 3-pointers. Yalaho also had five rebounds against Lamar in his fifth game of the season. He was coming off a game where he provided three rebounds and two points in the win over ORU in 13 minutes of playing time. He made his season debut against Northern Colorado where he had two points, one rebound and a block in four minutes of play and also had two points and three rebounds against Texas A&M. Yalaho had missed the previous six games to start his sophomore season with a lower body injury. He entered this season after playing in 17 games last season as a freshman, including scoring a previous career-high 10 points against Houston in the Big 12 Championship semifinals. A Finland native, Yalaho was 16-for-33 from the field and averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He had a career-best six rebounds at UCF where he also had eight points. Against Houston in Kansas City, Yalaho scored in double figures for the first time in his career after he also provided seven points and three rebounds in the regular-season finale win over Baylor. Over the summer, Yalaho returned to Finland where he participated in workouts with his national team. Yalaho has played in 25 career games and is currently averaging 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds this season.
Green has appeared in six games this season after he joined the Texas Tech program as a walk-on in September. He played the previous two seasons at Air Force. A Midlothian native, Green returned to his home state having played in 36 career games and produced 46 blocked shots. As a freshman in the 2022-23 season, Green started 12 games and played in 24 at Air Force where he averaged 6.5 points and had 34 blocks. Last season, he played in 12 games where he averaged 2.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and had 12 blocked shots. His career-best came with 17 points and 12 rebounds against USC Update on November 21, 2022. Green is a junior with one year of eligibility remaining after this season.
Francis has appeared in seven games this season and 12 in his career. He recorded his first field goal in his career with a layup against ORU for his first points of the season. He is a walk-on who played in five games last season for the Red Raiders. He scored his first career points with a pair of free throws against Sam Houston in a non-conference win and had two rebounds against Kansas and Oklahoma State in Big 12 play. An Austin native, Francis was a practice player for the program during the 2022-23 season before earning a spot on the roster. He was a 1,000-point scorer at Anderson High School.
Horner scored his first career points in the win over ORU and has now made seven appearances this season. He is a true freshman who joined the Texas Tech program after playing at Dynamic Prep and Frisco Memorial. As a senior at Dynamic Prep, Horner averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was a McDonald’s All-American nominee and helped the program to the Texas Christian Athletic League 6A State Championship. He earned T-CAL All-State Second Team honors. At Frisco Memorial, Horner was a three-time all-district selection who had 889 points, 419 rebounds and 121 assists in three seasons.
Henderson will be out of action for an extended period as he recovers from a lower body injury. He joined the program as a walk-on this season after being a three-time state champion at Oak Cliff Faith Family in high school. A Dallas native, he averaged 14 points and 7 assists as a senior after going for 10 points and 7 assists as a junior.
Marial Akuentok officially signed with Texas Tech on January 10, 2025, and has enrolled at the University to join the program immediately… Akuentok is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center/forward from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who played with the Canada National Team and won a bronze medal in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup last summer… He is a top 100 recruit who has reclassified from the 2025 class and joins the Red Raiders this semester but will redshirt.
McCasland statement regarding Devan Cambridge: “Devan is seeking a medical hardship waiver and is no longer with the team. We are thankful for his contributions to our basketball program.”
TEAM NOTES: Texas Tech is on a season-best four-game streak with 10 or more 3-pointers after going 12-for-33 at Arizona… Tech’s 16 3-pointers in the season-opener against Bethune-Cookman matched the program record that was most recently accomplished against Kansas back on February 23, 2019, and also against UNC-Asheville (2004) and New Mexico State (1996)… The Red Raiders finished last season with 11 games of 10 or more 3s and has already surpassed that this season, making 10 or more 3s in 14 games this season after also going 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) against Baylor, 12-for-30 (40.0 percent) at Houston and 10-for-31 in the win over TCU for their current four-game streak… Tech has shot over 45 percent from 3-point range in six games this season… A previous season-best stretch of three straight games with 10 or more 3s ended against UCF after Tech went just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range in the Big 12 opener… The Red Raiders have shot over 50 percent from 3-point range in three games this season: Bethune (53.3), Wyoming (55.6) and Northern Colorado (56.5)… Texas Tech was second in the Big 12 last season by shooting 35.9 percent on 3-pointers and third with 8.5 made per game… Tech went 24-for-34 (70.6 percent) at the free-throw line at Houston for the fourth time under McCasland with 24 makes… Tech is now shooting 76.5 percent at the line after going 9-for-10 at Arizona and 8-for-10 against Baylor while, in comparison, opponents are shooting 68.4 percent at the line in games against the Red Raiders… Tech’s largest runs of the season have been 17-0 spurts, the first time to end the first half against Bethune-Cookman and then midway through the first half against ORU to build out a 22-point halftime lead… Tech had 13-0 runs in the second halves against Arizona and K-State – finishing off Arizona with a 13-0 run in the 16-point win… The 30 assists against UAPB marked the eighth time in program history with 30-plus assists and the most since a 32-assist performance against Tennessee State in 2019; Tech now has four games with 20 or more assists this season after having 26 assists on 34 makes against ORU and with 24 assists at Utah on 34 makes… The Red Raiders are averaging 16.6 assists per game after having 15 against Baylor and at Arizona… Tech’s 47-point win over Wyoming was its largest margin of victory since a 50-point victory over Jackson State on December 17, 2022 and a 28-point win at Utah matched the second biggest margin in a Big 12 road game in program history… Texas Tech remained dominant in non-conference home games where it has now won 38 straight after the win over ORU to extend the streak into next season… The program has not lost a non-conference home game since falling to Kentucky in a 76-74 overtime decision on January 25, 2019… Tech comes into the home game against Arizona State with an 12-2 home record.
RANKINGS
• Tech is currently at No. 13 in the AP Top 25, No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, No. 10 in the NET and No. 9 in the Kenpom rating… Updated national polls will be announced at noon on Monday
• Tech entered the AP Top 25 last week at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and was at No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll… The team was also at No. 11 in Kenpom.com and in the NCAA NET rankings on Monday, January 27
• Tech moved from unranked to No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll (Nov. 18)… A loss to Saint Joseph’s bumped Tech from the USA TODAY Coaches Poll… The Red Raiders started the 2024-25 season unranked in the preseason polls after being at No. 22 in both national polls going into the NCAA Tournament last season… The Red Raiders were at No. 25 in the final 2023-24 USA TODAY Coaches Poll and received votes in the final AP Poll
• Texas Tech was picked 7th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll and did not have a player selected in the 2024 preseason awards
• Last season, Tech was at No. 15 (Jan. 29) for its highest ranking of the season; Tech came into the 2023-24 season unranked in the AP Preseason Poll and remained unranked in the Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, and Jan. 8 polls; The team received votes for the first time last season with 62 in the January 8 poll after the win over the Longhorns in Austin to begin conference play
• The No. 15 national ranking was the highest since the program was No. 12 in the AP Top 25 at the end of the 2022 season
• Tech’s highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)… The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final
COACHING STAFF
McCasland’s staff includes assistant coaches Luke Barnwell, Matt Braeuer, Jeff Linder and Achoki Moikobu along with Kellen Buffington (general manager), Andrew Wright (strength & conditioning), Chris Nottingham (player development), Jardon Powell (director of administration and operations), Cooper Anderson (operations) and Brian Pete (video coordinator). Linder joined the staff this season after being the head coach at Wyoming (2020-2024) and Northern Colorado (2016-2019) while Pete was at Vanderbilt last season. Braeuer, Moikobu and Wright are in their second season at Tech and all worked with McCasland at UNT.
PROGRAM NOTES
The Red Raiders have advanced to 20 overall NCAA Tournament appearances, including reaching the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 National Championship Final, 2022 Sweet 16 and the 2024 First Round… This is the 100th season in program history and includes recent appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024… The program won the 2019 Big 12 regular-season championship with a 14-4 conference record.
RED RAIDERS IN THE PROS
Texas Tech has had 25 NBA Draft selections in program history… Recently in the NBA Draft, selections of Zhaire Smith (R1-P16), Jarrett Culver (R1-P6), and Jahmi’us Ramsey (R2-P43) were made… Tony Battie was selected at No. 5 in the 1997 NBA Draft for the top pick in Tech history… Mac McClung, who has signed a two-way with Orlando, represented the program by winning the 2023 and 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest… Former Red Raiders who are listed on NBA G-League rosters are Jarrett Culver (Osceola), De’Vion Harmon (Indiana), Mac McClung (Osceola), Kevin Obanor (905 Raptors), Jahmi’us Ramsey (Oklahoma City), Zhaire Smith (Cleveland) and Warren Washington (Sioux Falls)… Former players overseas includes: Adonis Arms (Guangdong Southern Tigers in Chinese Basketball Association), Brandone Francis (Selenge Bodons Sukhbaatar in Mongolian MBL), Keenan Evans (Olympiacos in Greek GBL), Bryson Williams (Aliaga Petkimspor Izmir in Turkish BSL), Marcus Santos-Silva (Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball in French Betclic ELITE ProA), Davion Warren (Guangzhou Loong Lions in Chinese CBA), Dejan Kravic (Estudiantes in Spanish Primera FEB), Joe Toussaint (Karhubasket in Finnish Korisliiga), Justin Gray (Itelyum Varese in Italian Serie A), Tariq Owens (Cremona in Italian Serie A), John Roberson (Al Ahly Cairo in Egyptian Superleague), Zach Smith (Pitesti in Romanian Liga Nationala), Michael Singletary (Fubon Braves in Taiwanese PLeague+), Joel Ntambwe (Abeilles in Central African D1), Kyler Edwards (JDA Dijon Bourgogne in France), Jeffrey Crockett (Keravnos in Cyprus), Toddrick Gotcher (Fomik Zamek in Poland), Davide Moretti (Umana Reyer Venezia in Italy Serie A), Robert Tuner (FOS Provence in French ProB), TJ Holyfield (Pass Lab Yamagata in Japanese B2), Matt Mooney (Adelaide 36ers in Australian NBL), Clarence Nadolny (Rouen in French ProB), Devon Thomas (U.M.F. Grindavik in Iceland), Chris Clarke (Obras in Argentina)… Former players who transferred to other college programs and are now on NBA rosters are: Terrence Shannon (Minnesota), Kevin McCullar (New York), Jaylon Tyson (Cleveland) *subject to change based on player movement throughout the year
VIDEOS
EP1 – Toughest Team Wins | EP2 – Toughest Team Wins | EP3 – Toughest Team Wins | EP4 – Toughest Team Wins | Define Yourself
FEATURE STORIES
Toughest Team Wins | Formative Conversation | Four Journeys to Big 12 Media Day | JT Toppin | Chance McMillian | Kerwin Walton | Elijah Hawkins – Cousy Award Watch List | JT Toppin – Malone Award Watch List | Darrion Williams | Grant McCasland
Follow the Red Raiders: Keep up with Texas Tech men’s basketball news at TexasTech.com and at the team’s social media on Instagram, X and Facebook.
