Anderson, McCasland set for U19 World Cup Finals clash
July 05, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – The highly-anticipated matchup in Switzerland that Texas Tech basketball fans have been looking forward to has arrived. Christian Anderson and Germany will take on Grant McCasland and Team USA in the FIBA U19 World Cup Finals at 1 p.m. (CST) on Sunday at Lausanne Arena. Both teams enter the finals with 6-0 records, running through three games in pool play and then advancing in the knockout stage with three more wins.
Anderson led Germany with 27 points, six assists and five rebounds in an 84-72 win over Slovenia on Saturday in the semifinals before the USA cruised to a 120-64 win over New Zealand to set up the matchup. Anderson is now averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds through six games at the tournament – ranking fifth in assists and seventh in scoring. His 27 points against Slovenia in the semifinals came after he had scored 29 against Canada in the group stage and 18 points against Australia in the quarterfinals.
USA will be looking to add a record ninth title, while Germany is competing for its first. USA have only played Germany twice at the youth level - both of them in this competition. The first game was an 88-87 overtime victory for Germany in the Semi-Final group stage in 1983. The Americans beat Germany 81-59 in the Quarter-Finals of the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup.
Anderson is coming off a freshman season at Texas Tech where he earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors after averaging 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is listed as the second-best prospect in the tournament on the FIBA website. An Atlanta, Georgia native, Anderson holds dual citizenship with his father originally from Germany. He scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and finished the season tied for the team-high with 71 made 3-pointers. In conference play, Anderson averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.2 percent from beyond the arc. Â
McCasland has led Texas Tech to a 51-20 record over his first two season in Lubbock and is in his second year serving as an assistant coach for Team USA. Last summer, McCasland helped Team USA to the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup Championship in Argentina before he led Tech to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Earlier this summer, McCasland signed a six-year extension which has him leading the Red Raiders through the 2030-31 season.
Fans can follow and find more information about the U19 World Cup here.
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