Grant McCasland drops the mic after the win at Iowa State

ByNBAUSA



When Grant McCasland lost star forward JT Toppin for the remaining yearmany assumed his team would unravel quickly. Instead, Texas Tech hasn’t lost a game since, proving it remains one of the best teams in college basketball with a big win over Iowa State on Saturday.

After the McCasland game he couldn’t stop gushing about his team’s cohesiveness, praising his players’ “love for each other” for the monumental victory. The third-year coach said his team’s “real” concern was the difference last week.

“It’s a team game, that’s why these guys love each other,” McCasland said on CBS Sports. “If you see how they are around each other, it’s real. These guys really love each other; that’s the difference.”

Texas Tech had six different players reach double figures, which pleased McCasland no end. Donovan Atwell led the way with 18 points on 6-for-10 from three-point range, while star point guard Christian Anderson paced the Red Raiders with 14 points and seven assists.

Reserve forward Joiah Moseley was arguably the biggest x-factor in the rout, posting 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. Luke Bamboy, Tyeri Bryan and Jaylen Petty also reached double figures.

With Taupin suffering a season-ending torn ACL in a loss to Arizona State on Feb. 17, Texas Tech dominated Kansas State and Cincinnati before topping No. 4 Iowa State 82-73. The 22-7 Red Raiders have now usurped the Cyclones in the Big 12 standings for third place in the conference behind Arizona and Houston.

While Toppin’s injury will eventually come back to haunt Texas Tech, it has yet to show signs of slowing down without its leading captain. McCasland knew it would take a concerted effort to deal with the loss, and his team has performed to perfection so far.





2026-03-01 15:20:00

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