ASU rides press to signature win over No. 13 Texas Tech as JT Toppin exits late

TEMPE — Arizona State men’s basketball earned a signature win on Tuesday and its best since joining the Big 12, a 72-67 victory over No. 13 Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders had an 8-0 run in the final minutes to give ASU a scare, but when they had their best chance to tie it, Donovan Atwell missed a free throw on the front end of a one-and-one.

ASU broke the ensuing press, and Pig Johnson hit a free throw, giving the Sun Devils a 3-point lead with 8.5 seconds left. ASU did not foul, but Texas Tech turned it over and Moe Odum hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

ASU coach Bobby Hurley said postgame the plan was to foul around halfcourt if there was a good opportunity, but Christian Anderson fumbling the ball at that point took away the need. He said they’ll spend much of the next practices working on endgame situations to avoid those types of scares.

The upset was a tall task considering the Red Raiders’ one-two punch of Big 12 Player of the Year frontrunner JT Toppin and Anderson is among the nation’s best duos, but ASU held them in check to 38 combined points, slightly below their combined 41-point average.

ASU’s (14-12, 5-8 Big 12) press defense paved the way, and there were points on the back end of a 10-0 run in the second half where the Red Raiders (19-7, 9-4) couldn’t get the ball in bounds. Anderson turned the ball over seven times, with four for Toppin as the Red Raiders scored fewer than 70 points for just the fourth time this season.

UPSET ALERT!

Arizona State fans stormed the court at Desert Financial Arena after the Sun Devils took down the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders. pic.twitter.com/39IQMNxwdn

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 18, 2026

Moe Odum, who led all scorers with 23 points on 12 shots, was seen lifted up above the crowd during the postgame court storming, and he laughed about the cramp he said it gave him.

“I ain’t gonna lie, it meant a lot. I never beat Gonzaga, and I never beat Saint Mary’s (while playing in the WAC) … so I had to storm the court this year,” Odum said. “I’ve dreamed of this, so I’m just so happy we could finally get one. Hopefully, we get more.”

Pig Johnson added that there was a little kid in the crowd whom he picked up to protect from potentially harmful jumps.

Toppin exited with an apparent right knee issue with 6:03 left in the game as ASU led 61-56. He had scored six of Texas Tech’s nine points over more than six minutes when he went down.

Hurley likened Toppin’s injury to losing Jayden Quaintance to a knee injury last season.

“My heart goes out to him and hope that he’s back soon for them,” Hurley said.

Odum sourced the offense through ASU’s 10-0 run with a 3 followed by a drawn foul on a 3-point attempt in consecutive possessions, something he did in the first half as well. He hit a 3 to cap off an 8-0 run once Toppin was out, ballooning the lead to a game-high 11.

ASU took a lead into halftime on a 3-pointer by Massamba Diop on the Sun Devils’ final possession, capping off an 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the opening half.

The run came after Texas Tech rattled off a 19-8 scoring run of its own where it looked like the group with one of the nation’s best one-two punches was taking control. ASU led 16-12 early thanks to especially disruptive defense that forced several offensive fouls and turnovers by the Red Raiders.

Noah Meeusen was crucial early with a no-look feed to Diop for ASU’s first points, and he found Diop on a lob in transition on the next possession. Diop finished with 14 points.

Trevor Best got his first run in nearly a month and was the tip of ASU’s disruptive press defense during the stretch. He had a transition bucket to get the 16-12 advantage after Odum’s first six-point pair of possessions.

Andrija Grbovic played after he was a game-time decision, and ASU was missing starting shooting guard Bryce Ford (groin/hip flexor). There were eight available Sun Devils.

The win, which followed the previous Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma State, gave Bobby Hurley his first consecutive Big 12 wins since ASU joined the top-tier basketball league last year.

Up next for ASU is a stretch of three unranked opponents, beginning with a road trip to Baylor on Saturday. It then ends the season with top-10 opponents Kansas and Iowa State.

“You beat a team like that, you gotta feel like if you play the way you’ve been playing that you can compete with any team,” Hurley said. “We had done it at Arizona being in a one-possession game inside a minute, but to be able to close the team out and get the win, that’s a separator and hopefully the guys build off that as we hit the road.”

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