LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – For the second week in a row and third time this month, Texas Tech forward JT Toppin has been named the “Big 12 Player of the Week”.
Both this week and last week’s honors have come after the Red Raiders knocked off a higher-ranked opponent, 84-71 over No. 11 BYU on Jan. 17 and 90-86 against No. 6 Houston Saturday. During Saturday’s win over the Cougars, Toppin scored 31 points and had 12 rebounds- his 13th double-double this season.
Fans could arguably call him “Mr. Double Double” since he’s currently the only player in the country to be averaging those numbers.
While Toppin says he needed a tough, hardened mindset for the Red Raiders to overcome Houston, he also says the chemistry formed with his teammates has been equally important.
“I would say just my teammates like feeding me and trusting me,” he said, “Just staying aggressive, especially like this type of game, aggressive and knowing that, trust my work and they trust me, so I’m going to do what I do.”
Head basketball coach Grant McCasland says Toppin’s style of play is a huge reason the team has a 16-4 record, which includes wins over Duke, BYU and Houston.
“JT is one of the most impactful players that I’ve ever been around. I’m not just talking about this year. I’m talking about college basketball,” he said. “And I just love him because of his competitiveness and those things will take care of himself, but there’s no question that he impacts winning at the highest level and our team would not be doing what we’re doing if it wasn’t for JT Toppin.”
The Red Raiders (16-4, 6-1) return to action Saturday at UCF. Tip-off scheduled for 11 a.m. CT at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla.
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