No. 14 Texas Tech faces No. 7 Houston following Toppin's 23-point performance

Published Jan. 6, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) at Houston Cougars (13-1, 1-0 Big 12)

Houston; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -6.5; over/under is 141.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Texas Tech visits No. 7 Houston after JT Toppin scored 23 points in Texas Tech's 102-80 victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cougars are 7-0 in home games. Houston averages 77.9 points and has outscored opponents by 17.9 points per game.

The Red Raiders are 1-0 against Big 12 opponents. Texas Tech is 10-3 against opponents with a winning record.

Houston averages 9.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.4 more made shots than the 6.7 per game Texas Tech allows. Texas Tech has shot at a 47.1% rate from the field this season, 7.9 percentage points above the 39.2% shooting opponents of Houston have averaged.

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Emanuel Sharp is shooting 43.6% and averaging 15.9 points for the Cougars. Kingston Flemings is averaging 14.9 points over the last 10 games.

Toppin is averaging 21.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Red Raiders. Christian Anderson is averaging 3.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 9-1, averaging 79.9 points, 32.6 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 9.0 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.8 points per game.

Red Raiders: 8-2, averaging 83.8 points, 33.9 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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