Christian Anderson’s Texas Tech Red Raiders are set to start their 2026 NCAA Tournament run today against the Akron Zips at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. The Red Raiders are coming off a crushing defeat in the Big 12 Tournament.
Texas Tech had a good run this season, going 22-10 overall and 12-6 in the conference. They landed at No. 4 in the conference despite losing the last two games of the regular season against TCU and BYU.
Although the Red Raiders were ranked above the Iowa State Cyclones, they ended up losing to them in their first Big 12 Tournament matchup. But the 53-75 loss wasn’t the most heartbreaking thing in that game.
Their star guard, Christian Anderson, got injured. While playing on the LED glass court instead of the standard hardwood floor, Anderson slipped and had to leave the game. At the time, it appeared to be a groin injury.
Fans wondered if he’d be cleared to play in the NCAA Tournament. Fortunately, at the post-game press conference, he said that he was feeling good.
“I’m feeling good. Obviously, the floor is a bit slippery, so I think I just misstepped or did a movement that caused me to slip and ended up in an unnatural position,” he said.
It’s been over a week since his injury scare. So, is Christian Anderson playing in March Madness today against Akron? The 19-year-old has been cleared to lace up for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and will play in the first NCAA Tournament matchup.
Anderson is averaging 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He shoots nearly 48% from the field and 42.5% from the three-point line. Having him back in rotation would boost the Red Raiders’ chances against Akron since they’re already missing JT Toppin.
Grant McCasland on JT Toppin’s Injury
JT Toppin was arguably the best player for the Red Raiders this season. He was averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting nearly 55% from the field.
Last month, he went down with a knee injury, which turned out to be a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee. During an appearance on CBS Sports, Grant McCasland talked about how his team managed to regroup after that.
“It took us a couple of days,” he said. “It knocked the air out of us pretty good. But the one thing that separates great teams this time of the year is guard play, and we’ve got great guard play.”
McCasland said that even though the Red Raiders are a predominantly young team, they’ve got great leadership, which helped them overcome the setback of losing Toppin.
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