Texas Tech University Athletics
Toppin takes Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week honor
February 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball
TEMPE, Arizona – JT Toppin has earned his third selection this season by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for the Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week honor. Toppin, who was also named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the fourth time on Monday, is joined on the national awards list this week by Nick Boyd (Wisconsin), Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Graham Ike (Gonzaga) and Darin Smith Jr. (Central Connecticut).
For the 2025-26 season, the USBWA continues its national player of the week program that has been affiliated with the Oscar Robertson Trophy since the 2009-10 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the USBWA had recognized just one player each week. Each Tuesday during the regular season, designated USBWA board members will select five standouts from the 31 Division I conference players of the week to be recognized. This week's selections were chosen from a list of the conferences that named a player of the week on Monday.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2026Â Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
Toppin and the No. 13 Red Raiders return to action at 10 p.m. (CST) tonight at Arizona State after he had a dominant performance with 31 points and 13 rebounds to help lead Texas Tech to a 78-75 overtime win at then-No. 1 Arizona last Saturday. The win over Arizona came after he matched a career-high with 18 rebounds and scoring 16 points in a home win over Colorado. He also earned Big 12 Starting Five honors for the sixth time this season. Toppin, who scored eight of Tech's 12 points in overtime, leads nation with 226 field goals made and the Big 12 with 16 double-doubles, 11.0 rebounds per game and 4.25 offensive rebounds per game. His 21.9 points per game ranks third in the Big 12 and ninth nationally.
A Dallas, Texas native, Toppin earned 2024-25 Big 12 Player of the Year honors and was a Consensus Second Team All-America last season before returning this season where he was named the 2025-26 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and AP Preseason All-America. Toppin has recorded a double-double in nine of 12 conference games this season and has 47 in his career which ranks as the second most among all current NCAA players. Toppin has already amassed 1,573 points, 899 rebounds and 155 blocked shots through 93 career games.
Toppin's performance against Arizona was only the second time in NCAA history a player recorded a 30-point double-double in a road win over a No. 1-ranked opponent – joining North Carolina's Luke Maye who had 30 points, 15 rebounds in a win at Duke in 2019 – while also being on the second Big 12 player in the conference's history to do it in any game against a No. 1 with West Virginia's Devin Williams posting the first in 2016. Toppin now has six games this season with a 30-point double-double and nine in his career. Last season, he scored a career-high 41 points and had 15 rebounds in a double-overtime win over Arizona State in Lubbock.
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