Short-handed and trailing by double digits, Texas Tech’s prospects didn’t look great against a Duke team in complete control.

But the No. 19 Red Raiders rallied to pull off one of the more surprising comebacks of the college basketball season, knocking off the No. 3 Blue Devils 82-81 on Saturday in Madison Square Garden. Texas Tech (9-3) overcame a 17-point deficit, relying heavily on Christian Anderson and JT Toppin to hand Duke (11-1) its first loss of the season.

STATEMENT MADE BY THE RED RAIDERS 😤 pic.twitter.com/PAt3UIrAbb

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 21, 2025

Texas Tech was already playing without injured Luke Bamgboye, a 6-foot-11 center who started four games this season. Starting guard Tyeree Bryan played just three minutes, subbing out at the 16:46 mark of the first half and never returning. Then forward LeJuan Watts, who scored 20 points, fouled out with 11:33 to go and the Red Raiders down 8.

Texas Tech didn’t make another sub over the final 11-plus minutes. Anderson (27 points) and Toppin (19) scored the Red Raiders’ final 25 points and 29 of their final 31.

The Red Raiders were 0-3 against the ranked opponents on their schedule (Illinois, Purdue and Arkansas) entering Saturday, so the comeback gave them a signature win for the resume before Big 12 play opens Jan. 3 against Oklahoma State.

Freshman Cameron Boozer led Duke with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but the rest of the starting lineup combined for just 24 points. The 17-point lead was the biggest blown deficit for Duke since 2007, when coach Jon Scheyer was a Blue Devils player.

This is what Texas Tech does

Grant McCasland’s teams are often at their best whenever it feels like they have no chance to win. A year ago, the Red Raiders won at Houston after Toppin was ejected early for a questionable flagrant 2 call, and Saturday night felt even more daunting.

Freshman Nolan Graves hadn’t played more than a minute since he logged three on Nov. 26 against New Orleans, but with two players fouled out and Bamgboye, the starting center, sidelined with a leg injury, the 6-foot-5 Groves played 13 minutes and spent most of that time guarding Boozer. Toppin got his fourth foul with 15:09 left when the Red Raiders were losing by 14 and they somehow found a way.

Christian Anderson, All-American?

This shall forever be known as the Christian Anderson game. The Texas Tech point guard was just 1-of-4 in the first half and had 4 points at halftime, with Duke’s 6-foot-8 wing Dame Sarr making it tough for him to get a good look. Then Anderson put on one of the most impressive shooting displays ever in the second half.

Texas Tech set multiple ball screens until Anderson got the matchup he liked, then he would go to work. He made five 3-pointers, and when he got inside the arc, used his hostage dribble to shield off his defender and patiently get to his spot. Toppin gets the most attention for the Red Raiders, but Anderson is playing like an All-American. He’s one of the toughest covers on an island in the country, and he’s now had five games with at least 20 points and five assists this season. Toppin and Watts also had their moments, but Anderson carried his team to this win.

One concern for Duke

Duke is still a very good team and should be fine, but if there is a reason to worry, it’s the lack of a reliable secondary scorer next to Boozer. Duke’s second-best option in this one was probably throwing it to Patrick Ngongba II and him waiting to get double-teamed to pass it out — he had 4 points and four assists — but Scheyer had to pull Ngongba out of the game down the stretch because Texas Tech was targeting him to try to get him switched onto Anderson.

Isaiah Evans is supposed to be Duke’s Robin, and he scored just 4 points on 1-of-4 shooting. Almost everything revolves around Boozer, whether it’s him scoring or setting up others. He probably should have had even more touches than he got, but that’s a lot to put on just one player.

What’s next?

Texas Tech has a final nonconference tune-up against Winthrop on Dec. 28 before the Oklahoma State Big 12 opener.

Duke now has an extended break before it hosts Georgia Tech to begin ACC play on Dec. 31.