No. 16 Texas Tech rallies to beat No. 1 Arizona in OT for Wildcats’ second straight loss
No. 16 Texas Tech sent No. 1 Arizona to its second straight loss, shocking the Wildcats 78-75 on Saturday.
Watch: Exclusive 1-on-1 with Lars Nootbaar | 4 mins
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — JT Toppin scored eight of his 31 points in a dominant overtime performance and No. 16 Texas Tech sent No. 1 Arizona to its second straight loss, shocking the Wildcats 78-75 on Saturday.
DOWN GOES NUMBER ONE 😱
No. 16 Texas Tech goes into Tucson and knocks off No. 1 Arizona‼️ pic.twitter.com/0ytzZkvTiX
— ESPN (@espn) February 15, 2026
Texas Tech (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) beat the No. 1 team for the third time in school history. The Wildcats (23-2, 10-2) were 23-0 before losing to No. 9 Kansas 82-78 on Monday.
Arizona had a 64-57 lead with 3:29 left in regulation, but Texas Tech responded with 9-0 run, capped by Donovan Atwell’s corner 3-pointer with 25 seconds left for a 66-64 lead.
donovan atwell 3; texas tech vs arizona pic.twitter.com/PkQbsUOAtg
— ◇ (@F0RGIAT0) February 15, 2026
Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov tied it at 66 with two free throws and Christian Anderson couldn’t hit a contested jumper as time expired.
After the short break, Toppin went to work, scoring four baskets on an array of tip-ins and low-post moves. The preseason All-America selection shot 13 of 22 from the field and had 13 rebounds to finish with his 47th career double-double. Anderson added 19 points, hitting six 3-pointers.
Arizona’s Tobe Awaka had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Brayden Burries also scored 16 points.
The Wildcats were without star freshman Koa Peat in the second half because of a lower-body injury. Peat had two points and a rebound in the first half.
Arizona was already missing backup guard Dwayne Aristode, who was out with an illness, meaning coach Tommy Lloyd was down to essentially a six-man rotation.
Arizona led for the majority of the first half, but Texas Tech pushed ahead 30-29 on Toppin’s short jumper with 2:04 left before the break. It was tied at 32 at the half.
Up next
Texas Tech: At Arizona State on Tuesday night.
Arizona: Hosts BYU on Wednesday night.
Related
Star Arizona freshman Koa Peat out for 2nd half of Arizona loss with lower leg injury
Caleb Love inducted into Arizona Ring of Honor during Texas Tech matchup
RJ Godfrey signs with Arizona, expected to be Wildcats’ starting power forward
Court rulings grant NCAA athletes from high school class of 2022 another year of eligibility
Arizona Wildcats announce 2026-27 men’s basketball nonconference schedule
Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd not interested in NBA after UNC interest
Comments
5 Comments
Texas Tech is really good and even harder to beat with the UofPay missing 2 of their best players. IMHO, loses aren't a bad thing at this time of the year. They only count when they occur during the Dance.
If Peat doesn't come back, they're screwed, but with Aristode returning, and a healthy Koa, they'll bounce back. I hope they get dropped to a #3 seed, and people back east/Nationally think they're "done".
23-2, and losing to the returning Big XII Player of the Year, on the #16 team, while missing a starter, and a key rotation player . . . Yeah, you're right, they suck.