Previewing Tonight's Texas Tech-Purdue Matchup

Anderson, a sophomore for the Red Raiders, is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard. He's a highly skilled player with legitimate craft to his game. Anderson is not concerningly undersized height-wise (6-foot-2 is not historically detrimental to the probability of sticking in the NBA), but he has a lean frame he needs to continue to build out.

The potential 2026 draft pick can hit catch-and-shoot threes (39.7% on 126 catch-and-shoot attempts last season), is quick downhill out of the pick-and-roll, and is a solid pick-and-roll playmaker (84th percentile in Points Per Possession in Pick-and-Roll Plus Passes possessions on a sample size of 210 possessions last season).

Additionally, Anderson's ability to shoot off the dribble was noticeable last season and will be sure to serve him well against drop in the pick-and-roll or when self-creating. The rising sophomore converted 54.3% of his off the dribble twos (35 attempts) and 33.9% of his off the dribble threes last season (62 attempts).

His general live-dribble passing and on-ball defense looked like it had room to grow, however. For those looking for statistical reasons to believe in him, Anderson was 15th in Box Plus-Minus last season among freshmen who played at least 40% of their team's minutes last season.

This season, Anderson is already off to a strong start -- averaging 19.5 points, nine assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game while shooting 53.8% at the rim (13 attempts), 45.5% on non-rim twos (22 attempts), 38.5% from beyond the arc (26 attempts), and 87% from the free throw line (23 attempts). However, only one of those games against a Power Five opponent in Illinois, making tonight's matchup against Purdue key to evaluate how he's grown as a player since last season. Overall, look for Christian Anderson to continue to rise up NBA Draft boards as the season progresses.

JT Toppin

Toppin is a 6-foot-9 junior who, similarly to Labaron Philon, was likely to be drafted in the 2025 NBA Draft had he kept his name in. Toppin elected to return to Texas Tech to receive a reported $4 million NIL deal. He's played in three games this season, averaging 24.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.

In previous seasons, Toppin showcased potential as a high-energy, hustle "four" in the NBA. He has potential in the short roll, as he can put the ball on the floor, has a solid runner/touch shot, and is improving as a passer.

One area Toppin impacts the game unequivocally is as a rebounder -- both on the offensive and defensive glass. Across his one season at New Mexico and two seasons at Texas Tech (including this season so far), Toppin has a career 14.3 offensive rebound percentage and 23.8 defensive rebound percentage. Lastly, he's attempting to develop into a potential pick-and-pop player -- although he has a slower and developing release, he's a career 32.3% three-point shooter (93 attempts) despite being a career 63.6% free throw shooter (239 attempts).

Defensively, Toppin fits as more of a show coverage big in the pick-and-roll and, while he offers some level of mobility, he could improve his strength to help hold his own against stronger drivers and in the occasional defensive post possession.

It should be noted that Toppin has met both my Productive Young Athlete (PYA) query and the Productive Sophomore Query (PSQ) in previous seasons -- 77% of the players who have met the criteria for the Productive Young Athlete query have played five-plus seasons in the NBA or are currently in the league and 68% of players who have met the criteria for the Productive Sophomore Query played five-plus seasons in the NBA or are currently in the league.

Lastly, Luke Bamgboye is a 6-foot-10 big man on Texas Tech to monitor in this game as well. The VCU transfer was effective in limited minutes last season as a freshman.

Purdue

Braden Smith

The Boilermakers have four players to monitor -- the first being senior Braden Smith. The 6-foot guard is widely considered one of the best point guards in college basketball and has continued to showcase why so far this season.

Purdue has played four games -- one of which being against a Power Five team in Alabama. Impressively, this was Smith's best game so far this season -- scoring 29 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while shooting two-for-nine from inside the arc, 50% from three (ten attempts), and 83.3% from the free throw line (12 attempts). He's the engine for the No. 1-ranked team in the country, recording a 43.1% assist percentage last season.

Three other players to watch are Daniel Jacobsen, Oscar Cluff, and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Jacobsen is a 7-foot-4 sophomore who's making an impact as a rim protector (15.7 block percentage) and rebounder (8.2 offensive rebound percentage) so far this season -- any 7-foot-4 player making an impact is someone to watch.

Cluff is a graduate senior who transferred from South Dakota State last season, where he averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds last season. The 6-foot-11 big has continued to make an impact at Purdue this season, averaging 11.5 points and eleven rebounds per game.

Lastly, Kaufman-Renn is a 6-foot-9, 210-pound senior who averaged 20.1 points per game for the Boilermakers last season and is already off to a strong start in two appearances -- averaging 18 points and 15 rebounds per game. All three players should be monitored as prospects as the season progresses.