LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech standout junior forward JT Toppin will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ACL in his right knee.
The school announced Wednesday that an MRI confirmed the ACL tear after Toppin got hurt late in the 13th-ranked Red Raiders’ 72-67 loss at Arizona State the previous night.
Coach Grant McCasland had said after the game that he wasn’t sure of the severity of the injury.
Toppin had 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks before the injury, which occurred with about six minutes left Tuesday night when he drove to the basket before going down in a heap, holding his right leg. He stayed down for a few minutes, then needed assistance to gingerly limp off the court and to the locker room.
The 6-foot-9 Toppin, a preseason AP All-America selection, is the Big 12’s leading rebounder with 10.8 a game and ranks third in the league with 21.8 points a game. He is the national leader with 234 made field goals.
Only once before has a Big 12 player finished a season averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. That was Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in 2008-09. Toppin is averaging 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in his 94 games overall.
After transferring from New Mexico, where Toppin played as a freshman in 2023-24, the Texas native averaged 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds last season to help Texas Tech get to the NCAA Elite Eight. He was selected as the AP Big 12 newcomer of the year and was a second-team All-America pick.
Toppin’s 47 career double-doubles are the second-most among active players, trailing the 51 by Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg. Toppin has 16 double-doubles this season and 35 in his 58 games for the Red Raiders over two seasons.
In Saturday’s 78-75 overtime win at then-No. 1 Arizona, Toppin had 31 points and 13 rebounds, his ninth career double-double when scoring at least 30 points. That came three days after he matched a career-high 18 rebounds while scoring 16 points in his last home game, a win over Colorado.
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