Texas Tech University Athletics
No. 20 Tech hosts New Orleans at noon
November 24, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – On the nation's third longest active non-conference home winning streak, No. 20 Texas Tech is set to host New Orleans at noon on Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena before playing Wyoming on Sunday afternoon in a pair of Thanksgiving week home games.
The Red Raiders (4-2) split a pair of matchups at the Baha Mar Championship last week, opening with a win over Wake Forest before falling to No. 1 Purdue in the finals. Tech is 3-0 in home games this season and 19-0 in non-conference home games under head coach Grant McCasland. The program, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season, has not lost a non-conference home game since an overtime loss to Kentucky in 2020. The Red Raiders have won 42 straight non-conference home games, which is only behind Auburn (63) and Baylor (47) for the longest in the nation. New Orleans (2-3) plays at Mississippi State on Monday night before traveling to Lubbock for the noon tipoff on Wednesday while Wyoming (5-1) hosts Denver before making the trip to west Texas.
JT Toppin, who earned Baha Mar Championship All-Tournament Team honors, leads the Red Raiders with 21.8 points and 10.4 rebounds this season while sophomore guard Christian Anderson tops the Big 12 with 7.5 assists per game and is also adding 17.8 points and 2.2 steals per game. Donovan Atwell leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally with 4.0 made 3-pointers per game coming into the week. Atwell is averaging 13.2 points per game while LeJuan Watts is at 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game to give the Red Raiders four players averaging in double figures through six games this season. Toppin led the Red Raiders in both Bahamas games, going for 21 points, nine rebounds and matching a career-high with four assists in the win over Wake Forest before contributing 15 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Purdue.
Tech has made 12 or more 3-pointers in four of the first six 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 New Orleans shooting 68-for-195 (34.9 percent) and leading the Big 12 with an average of 11.3 made per game. Tech also leads the Big 12 with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game and is fifth in the conference with a 1.60 assist-to-turnover ratio. Through six games, Texas Tech is averaging 82.2 points, 16.8 assists, 39.2 rebounds, 8.2 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 75.0 points per game.
The Red Raiders dropped back five spots to No. 20 in this week's AP Top 25 Poll with the loss to Purdue. The Boilermakers (6-0) remain ranked at No. 1 while Arizona (5-0) moved up two spots to No. 2 and is followed by Houston (5-0), Duke (7-0) and UConn (5-1) in the top 5. The Big 12 is also represented by No. 9 BYU (4-1) and No. 15 Iowa State (4-0). Kansas and Baylor are both receiving votes in this week's poll. Texas Tech has been ranked in 12 straight polls dating back to last season. The team came in at No. 10 in the AP Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking in program history and was at No. 15 last week. Tech finished last season at No. 8 in the AP Top 25.
New Orleans will make its way to Lubbock for the first time since 1989 when the Red Raiders host the Privateers in their fourth home game of the season. The all-time series is tied 1-1 with New Orleans securing a 54-52 win on its home court back on January 11, 1988 before the Red Raiders claimed a 64-48 win on January 14, 1989 in Lubbock. The Privateers are coming off a 4-27 overall record and went 2-18 in Southland Conference play last season. The program is led by head coach Stacy Howell who is in his first season after working as an assistant coach at Texas Southern last season before eight seasons as the head coach at Loyola (New Orleans) where he won the 2022 NAIA National Championship. Coleton Benson leads the Privateers with 17.4 points per game while Jakevion Buckley is scoring 16.0 points per game and is at 7.0 rebounds per game. MJ Thomsas adds a team-high 8.2 rebounds average and is also producing 8.8 points per game. In their most recent game, a loss at Fresno State, Buckley led the team with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: New Orleans (2-3) at Texas Tech (4-2)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Venue: United Supermarkets Arena
Tip: 12 p.m., Wednesday
TV: ESPN+
TV CALL: John Harris, Chris Level
TEXAS TECH SPORTS NETWORK: Geoff Haxton, Clark Lammert
RED RAIDER ROSTER REPORT (*"players defining themselves")
JT Toppin: "Dawg. Fearless. Resilient."
Toppin enters this week second in the Big 12 with 10.4 rebounds per game and fourth in scoring at 21.8 points per game… In the Bahamas, he had 15 points and 8 rebounds in the loss to No. 1 Purdue after producing 21 points and 9 rebounds in the win over Wake Forest where he was 10-for-19 from the field against the Demon Deacons to record his 22nd career game with 20-plus points… Toppin was named to the Big 12 Starting Five last 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 55 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 New Orleans having already produced 1,156 points, 688 rebounds and 121 blocked shots through 74 career games.
Christian Anderson: "Tough. Team player. Human highlight."
Anderson leads the Big 12 and is seventh nationally with 7.5 assists per game along with contributing 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game to begin his sophomore season… He has now scored in double figures five times this season and in 23 games in his career after having 13 points in the loss to Purdue… Anderson, who also leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally by playing 37:34 minutes per game, had recorded seven or more assists in every game this season before being limited to one in the loss to the Boilermakers after he had produced 16 points and 8 assists in the win over Wake Forest in the Bahamas… Anderson is currently 16-for-44 on 3-pointers this season and is eighth in the Big 12 by making 2.67 3-pointers per game… In Tech's last home game, Anderson led the Red Raiders with 18 points and seven assists in the win over Milwaukee 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… A 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 New Orleans with 479 points, 122 assists, 127 rebounds and 54 steals through 41 career games.
Tyeree Bryan: "Team player. Competitor. Hard worker."
Bryan will be playing in his 100th career game on Wednesday and comes into the matchup against New Orleans averaging 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game… In the Bahamas, he recorded his 52nd career game scoring in double figures after going for 13 points against Wake Forest but was held scoreless for the first time this season in the loss to Purdue… Along with scoring 13 against Wake Forest, he also had seven rebounds, two steals and made a season-high three 3-pointers… Bryan hit his season-high 13 points for the first time on 5-for-10 shooting in the win over Milwaukee in Tech's last home game after having a previous high of 12 against Sam Houston… An Orlando, Florida native, Bryan has started all six games this season… 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-371 (41.0 percent) on 3-pointers in his career… Bryan has 948 points, 448 rebounds, 126 assists and 67 steals through 99 career games played.
LeJuan Watts: "Tough. Leader. Consistent."
Watts contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the win over Wake Forest but was held without a point for the first time this season in the loss against Purdue in Tech's two games in the Bahamas… 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 in the last home game and is now averaging 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists through five 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 New Orleans with 818 points, 412 rebounds, 215 assists and 10 double-doubles through 71 career games played in his career.
Donovan Atwell: "Hit shots. Consistent. Play hard."
Atwell leads the Big 12 by making 4.0 3-pointers per game after he made three more in the loss against No. 1 Purdue… He is 24-for-52 (46.2 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 and then going 3-for-9 against Purdue… He is now averaging 13.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game from the starting lineup… Atwell, who played in his 100th career game against Purdue, 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 matchup against New Orleans 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 New Orleans with 968 career points and is 235-for-589 (39.9 percent) on 3-pointers through 100 games in his career.
Jaylen Petty: "Leader. Creative. Bucket-getter."
Petty matched a career-high with 11 points in the win over Wake Forest in the Bahamas after going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers following scoring 11 points with three 3-pointers in the win over Milwaukee in Tech's last home game… Against No. 1 Purdue, he led Tech with four assists and also had five points and three rebounds in 34 minutes of play as a reserve… Through six games played in his freshman season, Petty is averaging 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists… 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 made his first start as a Red Raider in the loss against No. 1 Purdue and finished with five points, two rebounds and one blocked shot after he had contributed six points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in the win over Wake Forest… A 6-foot-11 sophomore, he made his Texas Tech debut with four blocked shots and four points in the win over Milwaukee in Tech's last home game… 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 39th career game when the Red Raiders host New Orleans and currently has 81 blocked shots, 149 points and 125 rebounds.
Leon Horner: "Vocal. High intensity. Coachable."
Horner provided five points and five rebounds in the loss against No. 1 Purdue and is now averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds through three games played this season… A sophomore, he 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 12 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 Purdue… Through four games played, Akuentok is averaging 2.3 points and 3.0 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… In the Bahamas, Groves came off the bench and scored four points against No. 1 Purdue with one 3-pointer and a free throw… Through six games played, he is averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 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.
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.
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 19 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 18-1 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 266-111 in his NCAA career, including his Texas Tech records of 55-22 overall (77 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
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.
