Grant McCasland’s ‘challenge’ after JT Toppin’s injury

For most of the conference season, Texas Tech basketball he looked like a dark horse contender for the national championship. The Red Raiders are well trained with Grant McCasland leading the way and they have one of the best star duos in the country in JT Toppin and Christian Anderson.

During a trip to Tempe to take on Arizona State, everything changed for McCasland and company. Late in the second half of what would end in a stunning defeat, Topin fell with an anterior cruciate injury thus ending his season.

While this is a tough blow for Texas Tech, the Red Raiders were forced to pick up the pieces and move forward. They picked up a convincing win over Kansas State on Saturday and followed that up with a strong 80-68 victory over Cincinnati on Tuesday night. After that win, McCasland talked about challenge he gave his team after losing the All-American big man for the rest of the season.

#TexasTech head coach Grant McCasland on the emphasis on the rebounding guard:

“I challenged those guards to rebound more because JT would gobble up a bunch, and now we’re going to have to do it more as a team than ever.” pic.twitter.com/kIb60FeOS1

— Cory Whitman (@CoriWhitmanDT) February 25, 2026

“The guys’ fight is right and their willingness to do what we ask of them is right,” McCesland said. “We just need more time and experience defensively. I challenged those guards to rebound a lot more because JT would gobble up a bunch, and now we’re going to have to do that more as a team than ever.”

Without Toppin scoring, Anderson picked up the slack with a huge play on Tuesday night. The star player finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He shot 11-for-19 from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers to carry the load for Texas Tech throughout the night.

Those 11 boards from Anderson are a big reason why the Red Raiders outscored Cincinnati 40-24 even without Toppin in the middle.

If McCasland and company are still going to make the deep run in March that they hope, a rebounding effort like this one from Anderson and the rest of the team is what it will take. As the team navigates life without its superstar, these are the types of wins that can help form an identity that can work in the postseason.