Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
26-8,15-5Big 12
No. 14 UNC Wilmington
27-8,14-4CAA
No. 3 Red Raiders advance in NCAA Tournament
March 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball
WICHITA, Kansas – Kerwin Walton scored a career-high 27 points with eight 3-pointers and Elijah Hawkins and JT Toppin each recorded double-doubles to lead No. 3 Texas Tech to an 82-72 win over No. 14 UNC Wilmington in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday at INTRUST Bank Arena.
The Red Raiders (26-8) advance to play No. 11 Drake (31-3) at 5:10 p.m. on Saturday in a NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup. The Bulldogs earned a 67-57 win over No. 6 Missouri to reach the Round of 32.
Walton's eight 3-pointers set a new Texas Tech record in the NCAA Tournament while the Red Raiders finished 13-for-46 from 3-point range for new program records in the tournament in both makes and attempts. Walton, who hit seven 3-pointers in the season-opener against Bethune-Cookman and had a previous career-high 22 points last season, went 8-for-19 from deep. Hawkins finished the game one rebound shy of a triple-double, going off for 14 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds while Toppin had 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Darrion Williams added 13 points and nine rebounds and Christian Anderson scored seven and dished out three assists.
"We went into it knowing that they would compete on every possession, and they outrebounded us," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. "They got 11 offensive rebounds. We thought that was going to be a huge one. I did feel like our fight when the game got close was awesome. Just the collective grit, all the Red Raiders in Wichita, it felt like a home game at times just with the belief behind us and the energy in the building. E with 10 assists, we only had seven turnovers, Kerwin making eight 3s and his consistency and approach every day is unbelievable. It's to his credit that he has a game like this because he never takes a day off."
Tech led by as many as 16 points in the first half before going into halftime leading 38-34. Walton's sixth 3-pointer came early in the second half for a 41-37 lead and his eighth gave Tech a 53-50 advantage. Walton came into the game averaging 5.8 points per game this season but has now scored in double-figures in five straight games.
"Most of the credit can go to Elijah Hawkins," Walton said. "He's a pure point guard. He knows where to find me. He knows how quick my release can be. He makes sure he hits me in the right spots, and honestly that's all I can really say. I have great teammates that can help me have a game like this."
Hawkins made three 3-pointers in the game, his third to give Tech a 65-59 lead as the Red Raiders started pulling away. He now has six double-doubles this season and 16 in his career. Three of his season-high nine rebounds came on the offensive end.
"You can ask him what I said at halftime," McCasland said. "I just said the reason why we're winning is because of him, and it didn't have anything to do with offense. I told him it was because of his rebounding. He was in the middle of traffic grabbing two-handed rebounds all game long. Got a few offensive rebounds early which isn't normally what we do, but because of the way the spacing was, he went and got them, but we don't win this game if it isn't for his rebounding. People can talk about a lot of different things, but to me that's what makes him elite. He does whatever the team needs to win, and tonight we needed him to rebound."
"It helped us out a lot having a lot experience on our team, but most importantly we just had the same approach for every game," Hawkins said. "You know, just trying to grind it out and play for each other. That's really what we use, and that's what we stick with the whole season. That's what got us here. We just have the same approach every game."
Along with its 3-point shooting, Texas Tech went 15-for-23 from the free-throw line and finished the game with 21 assists on 27 makes. The Red Raiders had only seven turnovers while forcing 13 from the Seahawks – finishing with a 16-10 advantage on points off turnovers.
"I just think that's the heart of this group is whatever you got to do to figure out a way to win, that's what these guys will do," McCasland said. "It did get close. We got in that time-out, and there was some talking. It wasn't like it was all pretty every possession. We had some defensive miscues that we had to communicate, but, man, how quickly these guys bind together in those tough moments is the best part of these games."
Nolan Hodge led UNCW with 18 points and seven rebounds while Bo Montgomery finished with 10 points and five rebounds. The Seahawks were limited to 7-for-26 from 3-point range and shot 41.3 percent from the field and 13-of-15 at the free-throw line.
Texas Tech took a 38-34 lead into halftime with Walton leading the team with 15 points after making 5-for-10 from 3-point range. The Red Raiders led by as many as 16 points in the first half with both teams having 12-0 run during the opening 20 minutes. Tech went up 35-19 on a Williams floater before Noah Ross ended the run with a jumper that started a 12-0 run for the Seahawks. Walton's fifth 3-pointer of the half ended the run and had Tech up 38-31 before Nolan Hodge made a 3 for UNCW to take the game into the break with the four-point margin. The Red Raiders were 8-for-26 on 3-pointers in the first half with Hawkins making two. Williams and Hawkins had six points each with while Hawkins led Tech with four assists. The Red Raiders had 10 assists on 13 makes in the first half with both teams at 21 rebounds each.
The Red Raiders are playing in the program's 21st NCAA Tournament and are now 20-21 all-time going into its game against Drake on Saturday in Wichita. Tech is making its eighth trip to the Round of 32 since the tournament expanded in 1985. Tech and Drake will be meeting for an opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16 and for the first time ever.
