Second-seeded Texas Tech will look for a season sweep of seventh-seeded Baylor when the two collide Thursday evening in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
In their first meeting, Texas Tech won 73-59 in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 4. The Bears have captured three of the past five matchups with the Red Raiders, and seven of the 11 since the 2019-20 season.
Texas Tech is the No. 9-ranked team in the nation.
Baylor (19-13) advanced to the Big 12 quarterfinals with a 70-56 second-round win over No. 10 seeded Kansas State on Wednesday. The Red Raiders (24-7) received the double bye allotted the league’s top four finishers from the regular season.
The winner Thursday will face the survivor of the quarterfinal between No. 3 Arizona and No. 6 Kansas on Friday.
Texas Tech begins play in the tournament after winning its final three games, two of those on the road and all three against unranked teams.
The most recent outing was a definitive 85-57 victory Saturday at Arizona State in which JT Toppin led Texas Tech with 25 points and 11 rebounds, posting his 14th double-double of the season. Christian Anderson added 21 points off the bench while Kerwin Walton finished with 11.
The Red Raiders made 12 of their 33 shots from beyond the arc.
“These guys really enjoy being around each other every day,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “It’s real. There’s a lot of pressure on them for different reasons. There’s a lot of strain. There’s a bond to this that makes college basketball great. I think this team embraces that.”
Toppin was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to win both the awards in the same season.
He finished the regular season averaging team highs in points (18.1) and rebounds (9.3) while converting 55.8 percent of his shots and blocking 33, which also led the team.
VJ Edgecombe hit for 19 points, Jayden Nunn added 18 off the bench, and Norchad Omier racked up 12 points and 14 rebounds in Baylor’s victory over Kansas State.
The Bears, who are considered a near-lock to earn at at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament should they not claim the automatic spot granted the champion of the Big 12 tourney, rolled to a 17-point lead at halftime and never let Kansas State closer than a dozen points through the second half.
“All I wanted to do is win, and we got the dub today,” Omier said after that game. “We’ve been growing in certain areas during the season, and late in the season we’ve been focusing more on defense than our offense.
“Everybody has to contribute, and we need even more of that in March. In the postseason, it’s a win-or-go-home mentality. I’m just feel happy where we are, you know, and the focus is the next game.”
–Field Level Media
