The Texas Tech Red Raiders are getting their men’s basketball season underway Tuesday night against Lindenwood.
They didn’t have a hefty injury report entering the week.
But when Tuesday’s game came around, four players were ruled out.
That included star forward JT Toppin.
Also out are LeJuan Watts, Josiah Moseley and Luke Bamgboye.
The big absence is Toppin.
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Why isn’t JT Toppin playing tonight?
JT Toppin isn’t playing in the Texas Tech season opener due to injury.
The Red Raiders only announced him out shortly before tipoff due to what they’ve termed a lower-body injury. They actually listed all four of their absences as lower-body injuries.
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Toppin is entering his second season at Texas Tech after playing his first college year at New Mexico.
In 2024-25, Toppin was a second-team All-American. He averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while making 55.4% of his shots.
Texas Tech fans will hope for good news soon on Toppin, because this unexpected absence isn’t what anyone wanted to see.


