Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
2-1,0-0Big 12
No. 14 Illinois
3-0,0-0Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech | 32 | 45 | 77 |
| Illinois | 45 | 36 | 81 |
No. 14 Illinois tops No. 11 Tech
November 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – No. 11 Texas Tech fought back from a 13-point halftime deficit but couldn't pull out the comeback in an 81-77 loss at No. 14 Illinois on Tuesday at the State Farm Center. JT Toppin led the Red Raiders (2-1) with 35 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots to record his fifth career double-double scoring over 30 points. He finished with 24 points in a second half where he shot 12-for-14 from the field and helped Tech get back into the game that went down to the wire.
"Give the Illini credit, they were more physical than we were at getting to the basket and getting fouls," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "Especially early and in good spots. You could tell they had a composure and savvy level to them that really got us on our heels. I loved our response to start the second half. I thought our scrap level improved. It looked like to start the game our guys were trying not to make a lot of mistakes and not trying to play the game to win. I know that sounds weird. When you're playing a great Big 10 team on the road, you better have an edge in the way you compete. I didn't think we had an edge in the first half. I did think we were playing hard. We had a few stretches where we put it together and put ourselves in a position to win. They had 11 offensive rebounds and 23 free throws to our four. They earned it and we got beat."
LeJuan Watts scored 21 points in the game, including hitting a pair of free throws on a flagrant foul call to cut the score to 80-77 with 12.5 seconds remaining before Illinois (3-0) iced the game with a pair of free throws from Keaton Waglar. Watts had 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including a putback to make it 76-73 with 50 seconds on the clock. Tech led midway through the second half before an 8-0 run by the Fighting Illini gave them a 72-65 lead with five minutes to play.
Tech took its first lead of the second half on an and-one from Watts for a 56-55 lead seven minutes into the second half. The 9-0 run was stopped by a Fighting Illini free throw in what became a back-and-forth contest that became close with a 15-8 spurt that saw Toppin score eight points in the first five minutes, including a dunk, floater and turnaround hook shoot to take it to 55-53. The Red Raiders got back into the game by shooting 11-for-12 from the field, led by Toppin who started taking command. Toppin made his first nine shots of the second half before missing on a shot that Watts followed up with a putback to take a 65-64 lead under nine minutes remaining.
Toppin, who was coming off 31 points and 14 rebounds against Sam Houston in his first game of the season, finished the game shooting 17-for-25 and now has 33 double-doubles in his career. Christian Anderson added 11 assists and eight points while Jaylen Petty led the reserves with five points. Donovan Atwell grabbed seven rebounds and finished with three points. Tech finished the game shooting 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) on 3-pointers with Watts going 2-for-2 and four players hitting one each.
Andrej Stojakovic led Illinois with 23 points after going 11-for-16 from the field, Kylan Boswell added 22 points and David Mrkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic scored 11 points each. Ivisic and Wagler pulled down seven rebounds each in a game where the Fighting Illini finished with a 34-30 advantage on the boards and a 14-6 scoring advantage on second chance points.
Tech and Illinois both finished with 13 turnovers each in the game but the Fighting Illini would outscore the Red Raiders by a 29-16 margin off them. The Fighting Illini also owned a drastic advantage at the free-throw line, making 16-of-23 free throws while the Red Raiders were just 3-of-4 at the line on the night.
The Red Raiders started the game on a 7-0 run but would go into halftime trailing 45-32 with Illinois responding from the opening run with an 11-0 run of its own and then ending the half on a 6-0 run. Toppin led the Red Raiders with 11 points and five rebounds at the break and Anderson added six points and four assists. Tech struggled from deep in the first half, going 4-for-12 on 3-pointers while the Fighting Illini were 7-for-15. Petty and Watts had five points each at halftime and Bryan had three with one 3-pointer. Stojakovic led Illinois with 12 points, including a layup as time expired in the half, and Boswell added 10 points after going 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. Tech led 7-0 to begin the game after a Toppin basket on the first possession followed by Watts hitting a 3-pointer and then a floater. Bryan would stop the 11-0 run by the Fighting Illini with a 3-pointer and a 3-pointer from Petty made it a 34-30 game. Tech and Illinois both had eight turnovers in the first half but the Fighting Illini had a 19-14 rebounding advantage and outscored the Red Raiders by a 20-8 margin on the turnovers.
Texas Tech now returns home to host Milwaukee at 7 p.m. on Friday at United Supermarkets Arena where it has won 40 straight non-conference home games after opening the season with wins over Lindenwood and Sam Houston last week.
"We'll keep getting better," McCasland said. "We haven't even scratched the surface on what this team can do."
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