Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
No. 1 Purdue
No. 15 Tech, No. 1 Purdue set for Bahamas battle
November 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball
NASSAU, Bahamas – A championship fight between national heavyweights takes place tonight in the Bahamas when No. 15 Texas Tech battles No. 1 Purdue in the finals of the Baha Mar Championship at 8:30 p.m. (CST) inside the Baha Mar Convention, Arts and Entertainment Center. The matchup against the undefeated and top-ranked Boilermakers (5-0) will be televised on CBS Sports Network along with a radio broadcast on the Texas Tech Sports Network.
"They have size, they have physicality and point guard play that is elite," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "They have guys who can make shots and really don't have any weaknesses. The key is going to be what our competitive fight in a game like this. That's the only way you can win a game."
The Red Raiders (4-1) are coming off an 84-83 win over Wake Forest on Thursday night to advance to the finals after the team knocked down 12 3-pointers, had 16 offensive rebounds and finished with 22 assists. JT Toppin led Tech with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Christian Anderson added 16 points and eight assists and Tyeree Bryan scored 13 points and had seven rebounds. Toppin comes into tonight's championship game averaging 23.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while Anderson is scoring 18.8 points per game and is averaging 8.8 assists per game, including two games this season with 11 assists. Tech led Wake Forest by one at halftime and trailed by as many as seven in the second half before closing the game out. Jaylen Petty made his third 3-pointer of the game to square it at 76 before Anderson hit the go-ahead basket with 1:34 on the clock. LeJuan Watts made three free throws and Petty two in the final 20 seconds to build up an 84-80 lead before Wake Forest made a last-second 3-pointer to make it a one-point decision. Â
"We started showing some grit at the end of the game," McCasland said. "Showed some fight. I was thankful to get the win and thought our guys fought the right way down the stretch."
As a program, Texas Tech has two wins over No. 1-ranked teams in the regular season after earning a 70-57 win over Louisville at the 2019 Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden and then going on the road to knock off a top-ranked Baylor team on January 11, 2022 in Waco. The most recent matchup against a No. 1-ranked team was a loss against Houston in the semifinals in the 2023 Big 12 Championship. Tonight's game is the first for Tech against a No. 1-ranked opponent in a multi-team event (MTE).
Purdue topped the AP preseason poll and regained the top billing this week after rolling to an 87-80 win over No. 8 Alabama last Thursday in Tuscaloosa. The team dropped Akron on Sunday before traveling to the Bahamas where it opened the Baha Mar Championship with an 80-71 win over Memphis in the first game of the night. Fletcher Loyer led the Boilermakers with 20 points after hitting four 3-pointers in the win over the Tigers while C.J. Cox scored 18 and Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Braden Smith had 11 assists and also scored five points. Through five games, Loyer leads the Boilermakers with 17.6 points per game while Kaufman-Renn is adding 16.0. Smith, who is a unanimous Associated Press Preseason All-America, is adding 15.2 points and 9.0 assists per game coming into the matchup against the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders and Boilermakers are meeting for the fourth time when they clash in the Bahamas with the most recent meeting coming in Boston. Texas Tech secured its first win over Purdue in a 2018 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup with a 78-65 victory to advance to the program's first ever Elite Eight. Purdue holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series though with an 82-59 win back on December 22, 1987 in West Lafayette and a 63-54 win in Lubbock on December 1, 1988. McCasland is 1-0 all-time against the Boilermakers, leading North Texas to a 78-69 overtime win in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Texas Tech is looking to win its first MTE since winning the 2018 Naismith Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City where it knocked off USC and Nebraska to secure a championship. The Red Raiders also won the 2017 Naismith Hall of Fame Tipoff in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Tech has made 12 or more 3-pointers in four of the first five games of the season, including setting a new program record with 17 in the season opener against Lindenwood and knocking down 12 in the win over Wake Forest. The Red Raiders come into the matchup against the Boilermakers shooting 60-for-161 (37.3 percent) with an average of 12.0 made per game after going 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) against the Demon Deacons. Tech leads the Big 12 with 16.0 offensive rebounds per game after having 16 in the win over Wake Forest. Through five games, Texas Tech is averaging 87.4 points, 18.6 assists, 42.0 rebounds, 8.4 steals and 2.8 blocks per game as a team. Defensively, Tech has not allowed an opponent to make more than eight 3-pointers in a game and is limiting the opposition to only 72.8 points per game and to 42.8 percent shooting overall.
RED RAIDER ROSTER REPORT (*"players defining themselves")
JT Toppin: "Dawg. Fearless. Resilient."
Toppin is averaging 23.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1. blocks per game to begin his junior season after going off for 21 points, 9 rebounds and matching a career-best with four assists in the win over Wake Forest last night… Toppin was 10-for-19 from the field against the Demon Deacons in his fourth game played this season and his 22nd career game with 20-plus points… Toppin was named to the Big 12 Starting Five on Monday after he produced 35 points and 11 rebounds at No. 14 Illinois before having 10 rebounds and seven points against Milwaukee last week… The 35/11 double-double at Illinois was his fifth double-double of his career with 30-or-more points and double-digit rebounds… He now has 33 career double-doubles and leads the team with 54 double-figure scoring performances in his career… Toppin missed the season opener with a lower body injury but showed no signs of alarm in his debut, going off for 31 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his junior season debut against Sam Houston… He returned for his junior season from a Consensus Second Team All-America season as a sophomore and has a slew of preseason honors leading into this season… He was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Associated Press Preseason All-American and is on the Karl Malone Award Preseason Watch List… A Dallas, Texas native, he was coming off a season where he recorded 19 double-doubles and averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game – each the team's leader… He set a career-high with 41 points in an overtime win over Arizona State and had a career-best 18 rebounds against Saint Joseph's… Toppin recorded three games with 30-plus points including going for 32 points and 12 rebounds at Oklahoma State and producing 30 points and 14 rebounds in the home finale against Colorado… He also had seven double-doubles with 25-plus point performances… Toppin ranked third in the Big 12 in scoring and rebounding while having the seventh most double-doubles in the nation… A sophomore from Dallas, Toppin scored 20 or more points in 17 games last season, passing Jarrett Culver (2018-19) who had 13 games of 20 or more as a sophomore during the run to the 2019 Final Four… His 18.2 points per game were also the most for the program since Culver averaged 18.5 in the 2018-19 season with the program record being 24.5 from Greg Lowery in the 1971-72 season where he posted 19 games of 20-plus scoring… His 19 double-doubles were only behind Tony Battie's 20 during the 1996-97 season in the Tech record book and was the 7th most nationally during the season… Toppin comes into the matchup against Purdue having already produced 1,141 points, 680 rebounds and 120 blocked shots through 73 career games.
Christian Anderson: "Tough. Team player. Human highlight."
Anderson leads the Red Raiders with 8.8 assists and 2.4 assists per game along with averaging 18.8 points after scoring 16 points and dishing out 8 assists in the win over Wake Forest on Thursday in the Bahamas… He has now scored in double figures in 22 games in his career going into the matchup against Purdue… Anderson led the Red Raiders with 18 points and seven assists in the win over Milwaukee last Friday after he matched his career-high with 11 assists and also scored eight points in the loss to No. 14 Illinois… An Atlanta, Georgia native, he was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and to the Big 12 Starting Five on November 11 after averaging 26.0 points, 9.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in the first week of the season – along with only having three turnovers… He recorded his first career double-double and established new career highs with 34 points and 11 assists in the win over Lindenwood in the season opener and followed it with 18 points and seven assists in the win over Sam Houston… He is the first player in program history to have a double-double with 30-plus points and 10-plus assists… Entering the season, Anderson was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team and is on the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List… He is coming off a freshman season where he averaged 10.6 points and 2.2 assists per game – earning All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors before helping Germany to the silver medal in the FIBA U19 World Cup during the summer in Switzerland… An 6-foot-3 point guard, Anderson scored a previous career-high 22 points in the Sweet 16 win over Arkansas last season and matched the team lead by making 71 3-pointers… He led the Red Raiders with 46 made 3-pointers in Big 12 play and finished the season shooting 38.0 percent from distance… During the summer with Germany, Anderson averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds, including scoring 18 points and having nine assists against the USA in the championship game… He finished his freshman season with four games of scoring 20 or more points and had a career-high six assists in the win at Kansas… Anderson comes into the matchup against No. 1 Purdue with 466 points, 121 assists, 125 rebounds and 53 steals through 40 career games.
Tyeree Bryan: "Team player. Competitor. Hard worker."
Bryan recorded his 52nd career game scoring in double figures after going for 13 points in the second straight game… Along with scoring 13 against Wake Forest, he also had seven rebounds and two steals and is now averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game… Bryan hit his season-high 13 points for the first time on 5-for-10 shooting in the win over Milwaukee last Friday after having a previous high of 12 against Sam Houston… An Orlando, Florida native, Bryan has started all five games this season and has made eight 3-pointers after knocking down three against the Demon Deacons… He is in his first season at Texas Tech after playing the past two at Santa Clara and beginning his career with one season at Charleston Southern and one at River State College… He is coming off a season at Santa Clara where he averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 66-for-154 (42.9 percent) on 3-pointers… Bryan scored a career-high 35 points against Gonzaga last season after going 7-for-12 from deep… He made four or more 3-pointers in seven games last season and is now 152-for-369 (41.2 percent) on 3-pointers in his career… Bryan has 948 points, 447 rebounds, 126 assists and 67 steals through 98 career games played.
LeJuan Watts: "Tough. Leader. Consistent."
Watts contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the win over Wake Forest on Thursday night after he knocked on the door of his first double-double of the season by having 10 points and nine rebounds in the win over Milwaukee last Friday at home… He is now averaging 12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists through four games played after he missed the season opener with a lower body injury… Watts, who has 43 double-figure scoring performances in his career, scored a season-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field (2-2 on 3s) at No. 14 Illinois… He made his Tech debut in the second game of the season against Sam Houston and finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of play… Watts is in his first season at Texas Tech and entered the season as the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year along with being selected for the Julius Erving Award Preseason Watch List… A Fresno, California native, he is in his fourth year in college after playing last season at Washington State and spending two seasons at Eastern Washington where he redshirted as a freshman… At Washington State last season, he averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game… He had 10 double-doubles and also recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Santa Clara… He scored a career-high 24 points in a game against San Francisco and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds against Idaho last season… Watts comes into the matchup against No. 1 Purdue with 818 points, 410 rebounds, 214 assists and 10 double-doubles through 70 career games played in his career.
Donovan Atwell: "Hit shots. Consistent. Play hard."
Atwell is 21-for-43 (48.8 percent) on 3-pointers to begin the season after going 3-for-6 from deep and scoring nine points in the win over Wake Forest… He is now averaging 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game from the starting lineup… He started the season with two straight games with six 3-pointers before a game against Milwaukee last Friday where he was 5-for-9 from deep and finished with 17 points… Atwell made six 3-pointers against Sam Houston and Lindenwood… He comes into the Baha Mar Championship final against No. 1 Purdue with 17 career games with five or more 3-pointers… Atwell went 6-for-13 on 3-pointers and also added four rebounds and two steals in the opener against Lindenwood and was 6-for-11 on 3-pointers in the second game of the season against Sam Houston… He joined the Red Raiders for his senior season after playing the past three at UNC Greensboro and is coming off a junior season where he averaged 13.3 points per game and was 96-for-241 (39.8 percent) on 3-pointers… His 96 3-pointers were the 43rd most in the nation… He scored a career-high 28 points last season at Chattanooga by going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers and has two games in his career with eight made 3-pointers… Atwell has averaged scoring in double figures the past two seasons, including going for 11.4 points per game as a sophomore in the 2023-24 season where he was 93-for-220 (42.3 percent) on 3-point attempts… His career-high for 3-pointers made is eight, knocking down eight 3s against Kansas City and Eastern Kentucky during the 2023-24 season while at UNC Greensboro… He comes into the matchup against No. 1 Purdue with 959 career points and is 232-for-580 (40.0 percent) on 3-pointers through 99 games in his career.
Jaylen Petty: "Leader. Creative. Bucket-getter."
Petty matched a career-high with 11 points in the win over Wake Forest after going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers after he scored 11 points with three 3-pointers in the win over Milwaukee last week in Lubbock… He is averaging 7.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists through his first five games of his freshman season… He made a strong collegiate debut by going for nine points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and having only one turnover against Lindenwood in the opener after playing 34 minutes off the bench and finishing the night with four offensive rebounds and made two 3-pointers… Petty earned Washington Gatorade Player of the Year honors last season after averaging 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game at Rainier Beach High School… A four-star recruit from Seattle, Washington, he led his team to a state championship and had a triple-double in a game where he produced 61 points, 15 assists and 15 steals… Petty was a McDonald's All-American nominee, adidas All-America, NBPA Topp 100 selection, a two-time Donovan Mitchell camp participant, an Allen Iverson Showcase selection and the Iverson Class 24K Showcase MVP.
Luke Bamgboye: "Resilient. Humble. Athletic."
Bamgboye contributed six points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in the win over Wake Forest after he made his Texas Tech debut with four blocked shots and four points in the win over Milwaukee last Friday… He had missed the first three games this season with a lower body injury… He transferred to Texas Tech after playing his freshman season at VCU where he ranked second among all freshmen in the nation with 75 blocks and was tied for 17th overall with 2.14 blocks per game... A London native, he averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in a season where he earned Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie honors… He appeared in 35 games with 24 starts, including scoring a career-high 17 points and having a career-best seven blocks against UMass… Bamgboye will be playing in his 38th career game when the Red Raiders face No. 1 Purdue tonight and currently has 80 blocked shots, 144 points and 123 rebounds.
Jazz Henderson: "Vocal. Confident. Energetic."
Henderson made his college debut and scored two points in seven minutes of playing time against Lindenwood and contributed two rebounds in the win over Sam Houston… He is in his second season with the Texas Tech basketball program after redshirting due to injury last season… A Dallas, Texas native, he was a three-time state champion at Oak Cliff Faith Family High School where he averaged 14 points and 7 assists as a senior.
Josiah Moseley: "Versatile. Energetic. All over the court."
Moseley has missed the first five games of the season with a lower body injury… He returned to his home state of Texas after playing his freshman season at Villanova where he played in 30 games as a reserve… A Round Rock, Texas native, he was the 2023-24 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 22.8 points and 8.9 rebounds for Stony Point High School… At Villanova, Moseley scored a career-high 10 points against Lafayette and had a career-best seven rebounds against Temple… He finished his freshman season averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Leon Horner: "Vocal. High intensity. Coachable."
Horner scored a career-high 10 points after making 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc in the season opener against Lindenwood along with grabbing six rebounds but missed the games against Sam Houston and No. 14 Illinois with a lower body injury… Horner has played in 10 career games after he returned for his second season at Texas Tech following playing nine games last season as a true freshman… A Dallas, Texas native, he scored his first career points in a win over Oral Roberts and had one rebound in five games… Horner played at Dynamic Prep and a was a McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior where he averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Marial Akuentok: "Energetic. Encouraging. Fearless."
Akuentok started and made his college debut in the win over Lindenwood – going for eight rebounds, seven points and having one blocked shot – before playing in a reserve role against Sam Houston, Illinois and Wake Forest… Through four games played, Akuentok is averaging 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game… He was 3-for-5 from the field in 17 minutes of action against Lindenwood and scored the first points of the season for the Red Raiders with a 3-pointer… Akuentok returned for his second season at Texas Tech after redshirting last year… He joined the program in January and experienced the journey to the Elite Eight… Akuentok is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and was a top-100 recruit who reclassified… He played at Fort Erie International Academy and was named the co-player of the year and defensive player of the year… He also competed for the U18 Canada National Team and helped lead them to the bronze medal at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup.
Nolan Groves: "Hardworking. Coachable. Team player."
Groves established a new Texas Tech freshman record in his college debut by grabbing 16 rebounds in the win over Lindenwood and scored seven points in the first two games of the season… Through five games played, he is averaging 2.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game… Against Lindenwood, he had six offensive rebounds and 10 on the defensive side of the court to go along with scoring seven points, dishing out three assists and coming away with two steals in 27 minutes of action from the starting lineup… Groves entered his freshman season after earning Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year while playing for Orono High School… He finished his senior season averaging 34.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game… A Long Lake, Minnesota native, Groves scored 40 or more points in nine games and had a 57-point performance.
Jack Francis: "Humble. Resilient. Coachable."
Francis is the longest tenured Red Raider, having joined the program as a practice player in the 2022-23 season… He has appeared in 18 games over the past three seasons, including playing in 11 last season… An Austin, Texas native, Francis played at Anderson High School where he scored over 1,000 points in his career… At Tech, he scored his first career points with a pair of free throws against Sam Houston and also scored last season against Oral Roberts… Texas Tech is 18-0 in games he has appeared in.
LaTrell Hoover: "Energetic. Coachable. Hardworking."
The final addition to this year's roster, Hoover signed with the Red Raiders on September 8 and immediately joined the program to begin practicing… McCasland said he plans to redshirt Hoover this season… Hoover is listed at 7-foot tall, making him the tallest player on the roster… A San Antonio, Texas native, Hoover played at Samuel Clements High School where he averaged 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a senior – earning all-district second team honors
McCasland is now 266-110 in his NCAA career, including his Texas Tech records of 55-21 overall (76 games), 26-12 in Big 12 games, 32-5 at home and 12-9 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 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup over the summer in Switzerland after winning the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Buenos Aires… McCasland was a 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Semifinalist presented by AXIA Time… His 54-21 record at Tech is the best start for a head coach in program history… McCasland joined Bob Knight as the only two coaches in program history with 20-plus wins in their first two seasons after Knight's teams accomplished it in 2001-02 and 2002-03… In 11 seasons as an NCAA coach, McCasland has won 20 or more games 10 times with the only exception coming in an 18-win year in 2020-21 at UNT with reduced games because of Covid restrictions… He is in his 10th season as an NCAA Division I coach.
VIDEO RESOURCES: Define Yourself | TTW EP1 | TTW EP2 | TTW EP3 | TTW EP4
FEATURES: Watts | Toppin (The Athletic) | Anderson – FIBA U19
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