Shorthanded Texas Tech Leans on Competitiveness & Anderson’s Career Night in Season-Opening Win
No JT Toppin, LeJuan Watts, Luke Bamgboye or Josiah Moseley? No problem for a shorthanded Texas Tech. After a slow start the Red Raiders showed their trademark competitiveness to handle business versus Lindenwood 98-60. Sophomore Christian Anderson led the way as the first D1 player since 2014 to post a stat line of 34 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
Head coach Grant McCasland said the performance reflected the program’s identity, one built on toughness, rebounding and togetherness despite missing several expected starters.
“We had to go into this game with a scrap mentality,” McCasland said. “We knew we’d have to be great defensively and on the glass because we were undersized. Our guys did exactly that. I thought our competitiveness was what it needed to be.”
Texas Tech Stat Leaders
Christian Anderson – 34 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
Donovan Atwell – 22 points (six threes), 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Leon Horner – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Nolan Groves – 7 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
How It Happened
Despite being short-handed, Texas Tech found its rhythm behind the steady hands of Anderson, who controlled every aspect of the game. The sophomore said earlier this preseason he wants to be the best point guard in America and tonight was a showcase on how he could perhaps do just that. While most get caught up in the points and assists, McCasland said he was most impressed with how Anderson controlled his body – something that to him shows up in the turnover and foul numbers.
“If you watch him, he’s a shot maker,” McCasland said. “But I’d like for him to even be more aggressive, honestly, just from the jump. What stood out most was his control – 11 assists, one turnover. But also he drew 10 fouls while only committing one himself. Just the way he’s using his body and how physical he is defensively without fouling.”
He showed that composure and maturity in the postgame when he attributed his success to the playmakers around him and his head coach for believing in him.
“I think it just goes to show my work and Coach Mac really had belief in me coming into this season,” said Anderson. “With the pieces around me it’s going to make it so much easier for us all to feed off each other. I think it was great win. And yeah that’s what I play for.”
Anderson wasn’t alone in leading the charge. Senior Donovan Atwell sparked the offense with six three-pointers on his way to 22 points, 13 of which came in the second half. McCasland said he wasn’t too surprised to see these two leading the way, to him the boxscore reflected the team’s availability in practice leading up to this opener.
“I’ll tell you what it says about both Donovan and Christian is their work over these last two months has been consistent,” said McCasland. “You know who plays the best is the two guys have been practicing, and you just saw there’s a lot of rough spots with the other guys. But man, I think our competitiveness is where it needs to be, and everybody can see, like, this team’s got a real chance if we can keep getting better defensively.”
While those two mainstays carried the load, others stepped up in toughness as noted by their head coach. One in particular was true freshman Nolan Groves who grabbed 16 rebounds – the most ever by a Texas Tech freshman in a first game. It was an edge that was needed in a game like this and helped lead to Tech out rebounding Lindenwood 59–43 while collecting 23 offensive boards.
“Nolan was awesome,” McCasland said. “You could just see how much it means to him. To compete like that when we’re down so many guys, that’s what we want to be about.”
Tech shot 40 percent from the field, including 17-of-45 from beyond the arc, and dished out 20 assists on 33 made field goals. Their 17 made threes was the most in program history, a pretty impressive feat when you remember all the pieces that were missing.
McCasland said, while the offense could be better, overall the ability to get good looks despite lineups who hadn’t played a lot together comes from players’ willingness to buy in, regardless of circumstance.
“I’ll tell you what it says about this new group that we have…they came here because they want to win,” said McCasland. “That’s why they’re here. Sometimes you go out there and you try to play for yourself, and it never works out. I honestly don’t think it does not one time. The more you lean into the team and how you help the team win, the better you play. And that’s what this group is. That’s why they’re special.”
Next Up: Home Versus Sam Houston Friday 11/7
Texas Tech (1-0) will host Sam Houston (1-0) Friday night in Lubbock at 7 pm. The Bearcats are coming off a 95-59 win over DIII LeTourneau.
Game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Photo Gallery: No. 10 Texas Tech vs. Lindenwood Basketball
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