Red Raiders, Wolfpack set for NCAA First Round in Pittsburgh

Release Provided By WES BLOOMQUIST Texas Tech Athletics

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech is set to compete in the program’s 20th NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament after earning an at-large bid as the South Region No. 6 seed where it will play No. 11 North Carolina State at 9:40 p.m. (ET) on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The NCAA First Round game will be televised on CBS and follows No. 3 Kentucky and No. 14 Oakland which will set up the NCAA Second Round matchup on Saturday at the site.

The Red Raiders are 23-10 overall after finishing tied for third with an 11-7 record in Big 12 play and enter the postseason ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll. As a program, Tech has an 11-5 record in the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including reaching the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 National Championship Final and 2022 Sweet 16. The program is 19-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has appeared in six of the last eight tournaments.

NC State (22-14, 9-11 ACC) ran off five straight victories to win the 2024 ACC Tournament with a championship victory over North Carolina on Saturday after knocking off Virginia, Duke, Syracuse, and Louisville. The Wolfpack entered the tournament on a four-game losing streak before securing the automatic bid to punch their ticket to Pittsburgh and the program’s 29th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Red Raiders did not play an ACC opponent this season.

Texas Tech and North Carolina State have met three times with the Wolfpack owning a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. The programs have not met since the 1950s, with Tech making three trips to Raleigh in 1951, 1952, and 1954. Tech won the first-ever matchup, 63-62, on December 13, 1951, before dropping the next two games. This will be the first postseason matchup between the programs.

RED RAIDER REPORT

Grant McCasland’s inaugural roster at Texas Tech has 13 players on it with five returners and eight newcomers… McCasland was named the 19th head coach in program history on March 31, 2023, after leading North Texas for six season, culminating in winning the 2023 NIT Championship… He is currently in his 10th season as an NCAA head coach and has a 234-99 overall record with head coaching experiences at Midwestern State, Arkansas State, and North Texas… He was also an assistant at Baylor from 2011-16 and won the 2007 NJCAA National Championship in his first head coaching role leading Midland College… McCasland matched Bob Knight for the best 20-game start (16-4) for a Tech head coach and has joined Mark Adams (2021-22) and Knight (2001-02) as the only two coaches in program history with 20-plus wins in their first seasons… Adams won 27 games in his first season and led Tech to the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16 while Knight won 23 games in his first season… McCasland is the fourth head coach to lead Tech to the NCAA Tournament in first season following Gene Gibson (1962), Knight (2002), Adams (2022)

Three Red Raiders were honored with All-Big 12 Awards: Darrion Williams was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team; Pop Isaacs earned All-Big 12 Third Team; Joe Toussaint was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection

Tech surpassed the 20-win milestone for the 17th time in the program’s 99th season and won double-digit conference games for the seventh time… Tech was picked eighth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll and was unranked nationally until breaking into the polls in mid-January… The team has been ranked the past two weeks and enters the postseason at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll… Tech is No. 27 in the NCAA NET Rankings with a 6-9 record in Quad 1, 4-1 against Quad 2, and a combined 13-0 against Quad 3 and 4
Tech is currently 6-5 against AP Top 25 opponents this season with wins over No. 6 Kansas, at No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 20 BYU, at No. 20 Texas, No. 11 Baylor, vs. No. 20 BYU (*ranking at the time of game)… The losses came at No. 5 Houston, at No. 13 Baylor, at No. 25 TCU, at No. 10 Iowa State, and vs. No. 1 Houston in the Big 12 semifinals

From the conference office: A Big 12 record and nation-high tying eight teams were selected for the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship… Regular season titleholder Houston earned a No. 1 seed in its first year in the Conference while Iowa State, winner of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship, was awarded a No. 2 seed. Other participants and seeds are No. 3. Baylor, No. 4. Kansas, No. 6. BYU, No. 6. Texas Tech, No. 7. Texas and No. 9. TCU… The Big 12 has a No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive year and 16th season out of 27. The Big 12 has captured two national championships in the previous three years with Baylor winning the 2021 title and Kansas bringing home the 2022 trophy. Conference teams have played in four of the past five Final Fours, including three national championship game appearances.

In Big 12 weekly awards, three players earned recognition during the course of the season with Darrion Williams, Chance McMillian and Pop Isaacs… Williams was the named the Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for his performances at Oklahoma State and against Baylor to finish the regular season… McMillian was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season after his 27 points at Oklahoma… He earned the honor for the first time on December 4 after his 24-point performance at Butler where he made eight 3-pointers… Isaacs was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on January 2 for his 28-point performance against Sam Houston

Tech held four Big 12 opponents below 60 points this season with its 75-58 win at Oklahoma State, the 60-59 victory over Kansas State, 66-59 home win over UCF, and the 79-50 victory over Kansas… Tech is 18-0 when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer this season after limiting BYU to 67 in the Big 12 quarterfinals and Baylor to 68 in the regular-season finale

Texas Tech leads the Big 12 and is now 15th nationally with a 77.8 percentage at the free-throw line after going 22-for-24 (91.7%) in the Big 12 semifinals against Houston and 18-for-25 (72.0%) against BYU in the quarterfinals … The percentage against Houston was the fourth time this season Tech has shot over 90% at the free-throw line as a team… Tech has shot over 80 percent at the line in 16-of-33 games this season… Tech has made 10 or more free throws in 30 of 33 games… The 24 makes against TCU matched a season-high the team also had in the opener against Texas A&M-Commerce… Tech has made 20 or more free throws in five games… The program record is 75.6 percent for a season – coming in 2004-05

Texas Tech is currently 15-2 at home, 4-2 in neutral-court games, and 4-6 in true road games with ranked road wins at No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 20 Texas on January 6 to begin Big 12 play… For the program, the 2022-23 team went 18-0 at home to establish the best home record in program history
Fast starts: Tech improved to 17-1 when leading at halftime after taking a 42-23 lead over BYU, a 40-27 margin against Baylor, and a 38-17 advantage over Oklahoma State… The only halftime lead Tech lost was against Cincinnati where it led 37-36 at the break but lost 75-72 in Lubbock
Tech is currently 4-1 in March after it went 3-5 in February… The Red Raiders were 6-2 in January, 5-0 in December, and 5-2 in November

Tech has made 9 or more 3-pointers in 15 of 33 games this season after going 7-for-22 against Houston and 9-for-19 (47.4%) against BYU in the Big 12 Championship last week… The 3-point highlight in Big 12 play for the Red Raiders was when they were 14-for-28 at TCU on January 30 before making 13 in Morgantown… The Red Raiders had a season-high 15 against Sam Houston in non-conference play… The 15 3-pointers against Sam Houston matched the second most in program history and fell just one shy of the program record of 16 3-pointers which has happened three times – most recently against Kansas in 2019… The Red Raiders are now 282-for-773 (36.5%) for the season on 3-pointers which ranks second in the Big 12… Tech is also third in the Big 12 by making 8.5 3-pointers per game

Tech is fourth in the Big 12 with only 11.2 turnovers per game after struggling with possession at the Big 12 Championship with 19 turnovers against Houston after having 13 against BYU… The fewest turnovers this season was four in the home win over Oklahoma State… Tech has had less than 10 turnovers in 14 games this season, including only six in the home win over BYU and then eight against Kansas… The most turnovers during the Big 12 regular season came at Iowa State with 16
Tech went 3-4 record against first-year Big 12 opponents with wins over UCF and BYU (twice) along with losses to Houston (twice), Cincinnati, and at UCF

Historically, the 20-game start with a 16-4 record was the best for the program since starting the 2003-04 season with the same record… The 1995-96 team was 19-1 for the best start and went 30-2 overall… The James Dickey team was 30-1 before falling to Georgetown in the 1996 Sweet 16 in Atlanta
Comebacks: Texas Tech has now won five games this season and four in Big 12 games when trailing by double digits… The biggest comeback came after it trailed by as many as 17 points against BYU and was down 48-32 at halftime before storming back for the win… Tech trailed 20-4 to start at WVU and was down six at halftime before winning in Morgantown for the biggest road comeback (16 points)… Tech had an 11-point halftime deficit against Kansas State in a win and a nine-point hole in the second half at Oklahoma to give them three second-half comebacks in Big 12 play where they were down at least nine points… In non-conference play in the Bahamas, Tech trailed by 15 against Northern Iowa before coming back for a win… The 16-point halftime comeback against BYU was the largest for the program since coming back from a 17-point halftime deficit (and as many as 23 points) against Iowa State last season… This season, Tech trailed UNI by as much as 15, Kansas State by 12, BYU by 17, 10 against TCU, and 16 at WVU

Tech is 3-0 in one-point decisions with the 82-81 win over TCU, earning an 85-84 win at Oklahoma, and the 60-59 win over K-State on Jan. 13 which was its first one-point win of the season… The Red Raiders are 4-1 in games decided by five points or less with the only loss coming in a 75-72 loss to Cincinnati at home
Tech has been led in scoring by seven different players in its 33 games after McMillian led the team for the fourth time with his 15 points against Houston after Isaacs led the team for the 15th time with his 22 points against BYU, 20 points against Baylor and 19 at Oklahoma State in the previous three games…Toussaint led the team for the seventh time with his 21 points at West Virginia… Williams had 13 points and led the team for the first time in the home win against UCF before his 30-point performance against Kansas… Williams led Tech for the third time this season with 19 points at UCF last Saturday… McMillian also led Tech with his career-high 27 points at Oklahoma, 24 points at Butler and 17 points in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi… Warren Washington was the sixth different leading scorer after he had his game-high 18 points against Oral Roberts in non-conference play following Walton scoring his career-high 22 points against Omaha

From last season to this, the Red Raiders returned Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, D’Maurian Williams, Kerwin Walton, and Robert Jennings who are each in their second season in the program… Tech returned only 25.4 percent of its scoring from last season with eight departures from last year’s roster… Isaacs is Tech’s leading returning scorer after going for 11.5 points per game as a true freshman in 25 games played last season

The list of newcomers includes five players from the transfer portal in Devan Cambridge (Arizona State), Chance McMillian (Grand Canyon), Joe Toussaint (West Virginia), Darrion Williams (Nevada), and Warren Washington (Arizona State)… All five players signed out of the transfer portal played on teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament… The transfer portal additions had a combined 492 games of experience and 3,454 points scored coming into the season

Cambridge suffered a season-ending knee injury in the win over Omaha on December 6 and will miss the remainder of the year… A starter in all eight games before the injury, Cambridge will have the option after the season to file a medical hardship through the Big 12… He averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Red Raiders and is currently at 983 points and 515 rebounds in his career

Tech has had four different starting lineups this season… The starting lineup for the opening eight games was: Cambridge, Isaacs, Toussaint, Warren Washington, Darrion Williams… Kerwin Walton has started since Cambridge’s injury, making his first start this season against Vanderbilt… The starting lineup of Isaacs, Toussaint, Warren Washington, Darrion Williams, and Walton is currently 12-4 together with their only losses coming in Big 12 road games at Houston and TCU before the home defeat to Cincinnati… Robert Jennings started in place of Warren Washington at Baylor due to illness and against Iowa State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Baylor, BYU, and Houston with Washington’s foot injury… The Red Raiders are 5-4 without Washington in the lineup… McMillian made his first start of the season to replace Williams against Houston

Showing team balance, Tech has had five players score in double figures in three games… The Red Raiders matched a season-best with five players in double-figures against BYU in the quarterfinals with Isaacs (22), McMillian (17), Walton (12), Jennings (10), Toussaint (10)… Five also scored against Oklahoma State with Isaacs (24), Washington (16), Walton (16), Williams (14), Toussaint (13) – it was the first time all five starters scored in double figures… Tech also had five players in double-figure scoring for the first time at Butler with McMillian (24), Isaacs (18), Toussaint (18), Cambridge (16), Warren Washington (10)

A season-high 11 players scored in the opener against Texas A&M-Commerce… Tech had three players score in double figures at Oklahoma State – Isaacs (19), Williams (18), McMillian (14)
Darrion Williams was McCasland’s first signee on April 21, 2023, followed by Chance McMillian (April 25, 2023), Warren Washington (May 15, 2023), Eemeli Yalaho (May 23, 2023), Devan Cambridge (July 6, 2023), Joe Toussaint (July 6, 2023)

Cambridge and Toussaint were both officially announced on July 6, 2023, to complete the roster… Six players were signed by McCasland and staff in the off-season

Eight players have made their Texas Tech debut this season, including most recently with Jack Francis and KyeRon Lindsay who played for their first time this season against Omaha

Tech is a team comprised of 5th-year seniors (3), seniors (3), sophomores (6), and freshmen (1)
Tech has players from Texas (3), California (3), Arizona (1), Minnesota (1), Nevada (1), New York (1), Oregon (1), Tennessee (1), Finland (1)

Darrion Williams was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after being named to the All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team… He had scored in double-figures for the 10 straight games to end the regular season but was limited to seven points in the win over BYU after being slowed by a mild ankle sprain in the first half… He returned and played 28 minutes in the win over BYU but missed his first game of the season against Houston as a precaution… Williams recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the regular-season finale against Baylor after going for 18 points at Oklahoma State along with adding nine rebounds and a career-high five steals… Through all 18 games in the Big 12 schedule, Williams averaged 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game…He has now led the team in rebounding in 14 of 33 games this season and has scored in double figures in 18… Williams is averaging 11.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game… He ranked third in the Big 12 in rebounding and is second in the conference with his nine double-doubles… Against WVU, Williams played all 40 minutes and was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists… A sophomore who transferred from Nevada, Williams was named the Associated Press National Player of the Week on February 20 for his historic performance seven games ago against Kansas where he was 12-for-12 from the field, 4-for-4 on 3-pointers and added 11 rebounds in the 79-50 win on February 12… In Orlando, he led Tech with 19 points and 11 rebounds at UCF where he played all 40 minutes for the first time this season… He also finished third in the Big 12 with 237 total rebounds… From Sacramento, California, Williams contributed 14 points and seven rebounds in the win over TCU to continue the double-figure scoring streak that started with 17 points at Baylor… He recorded his third straight double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State… A starter in 32 of 33 games this season and 62 of the 65 in his career, he played his freshman season at Nevada before becoming McCasland’s first signee… He has led the Red Raiders in scoring in three games after not leading the team in scoring production in the first 22 games… His 12-for-12 shooting performance is the best in Texas Tech program history and tied the Big 12 record with Oklahoma State’s Marshall Moses who was 12-for-12 in a game at Tulsa in 2010… He was only three makes away from the NCAA record from Clifford Rozier who was 15-for-15 for Louisville in 1983… He opened the game at Iowa State with two makes, pushing his streak to 15 straight makes after he also made his last shot attempt in the win against UCF before the 12-for-12 game against KU… For the Tech program, Greg Lowery had the previous best with an 11-for-11 performance against Rice in 1970… Jarrett Culver was 12-for-13 against ACU in 2018 for the most recent 12-make game… Williams is shooting 127-for-254 (50%) from the field after going 3-for-6 against BYU in the quarterfinals… His four 3-pointers against KU matched a career-high that he had last season while playing for Nevada in the NCAA Tournament against Arizona State… Williams had his fifth double-double of the season when he led Tech in scoring with 13 points and 13 rebounds in the first matchup against UCF… His 13 points against UCF at home were the first time he’s led the Red Raiders in scoring this season … He had scored in single digits in five straight games before his 17 points at Baylor where he went 6-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line… At 6-foot-6, he had a career-high 14 rebounds against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in non-conference play… Going into his 66th career game, Williams has 618 points, 481 rebounds, 166 assists, and 85 steals… He recorded his fourth double-double of the season after going for 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in the win over Oklahoma State after his third double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win over ORU… Williams had recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career after going for 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Michigan… Against Michigan, he had a season-high three 3-pointers which was just shy of his career-best of four 3-pointers in a game last season against Arizona State in the NCAA Tournament… He recorded the first double-double of the season for Texas Tech and the second in his career by going for a career-high 14 rebounds and adding 10 points in the win over Corpus Christi… Williams began his Tech career with 14 points and seven rebounds in the season-opening win over Commerce… Last season, he earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year while playing at the University of Nevada after earning Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior year of high school at Bishop Gorman… He transferred to Tech before the summer after averaging 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a freshman… He also had 90 assists, 47 steals, and 11 blocks in his first collegiate season… His freshman-year report saw him record 11 games with double-figure rebounds, 11 games with double-figure scoring, and one double-double… Williams started against Texas A&M in Tech’s exhibition game and finished with six points and two rebounds in 17 minutes… In the scrimmage against UTEP, he had 14 points… Last season, Williams was 91-for-220 (41.4%) from the field and 35-of-98 (35.7%) on 3-pointers… The Athletic had Williams as the 14th best available transfer while ESPN put him at No. 43 on its 2023-24 transfer list… His nine double-doubles are the most in a single-season for Tech since Zach Smith also had eight in the 2016-17 season… The single-season record is 20 which was set by Tony Battie in 1996-97

Pop Isaacs led Tech with 22 points in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal win over BYU before being limited to six against Houston in the semifinals… He was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team, leads the Red Raiders with 15.9 points per game this season… He enters the NCAA Tournament with 524 total points which is the third most in the Big 12, with the fifth most 3-pointers made with 72, and now has 811 career points… He finished the regular-season strong, scoring a team-high 20 points with three 3-pointers in the win over Baylor after he led Tech with 19 points at Oklahoma State… He finished fourth in the Big 12 with his 16.0 points per game… Along with his scoring, Isaacs is averaging 3.5 assists per game with 17 games this season of four or more following five assists at OSU and WVU… Isaacs had a 13-game scoring streak during the season that started with 19 points against Vanderbilt on December 16, 2023, in Fort Worth and had seven games of 20-plus point performances in it and was capped with 11 points at Baylor – before 7 against UCF and Kansas… The streak included him going off for a career-high 32 points in a home win over BYU where he went 6-for-9 on 3-pointers… At the free-throw line, he’s currently 122-for-146 (83.6%) which ranks 8th in the Big 12… At WVU, he did not attempt a free throw which was only the second time this season he did not (previous against UNI)… His career free-throw percentage is at 85.1% with him going 165-for-194 at the line in his two seasons after going 5-for-6 in the win over Baylor to finish the regular season and 1-for-1 against Houston… He also has a 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio which ranks 21st in the Big 12… The 13-game streak of double-figure scoring is his career best after having a streak of seven last season as a freshman… For the program, Jarrett Culver had two streaks in his sophomore season – one of 13 games before finishing the year with 24 straight double-figure scoring performances…Isaacs currently has scored in double figures in 25 games this season and in 41 of his 58 career games played… Isaacs went off for 24 points with four 3-pointers in the win over Oklahoma State at home on January 9 for his fourth straight game with 20 or more points before scoring 10 points in the win over K-State to break that 20+ streak… A starter in all 33 games, he has 22 games with three assists or more… He also led Tech with 21 points at Texas in its Big 12 opener where he surpassed the 500-point career milestone after going 7-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, and shooting 4-for-4 at the free-throw line… A sophomore from Las Vegas, Isaacs was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time in his career after going off for his previous career-high 28 points in the win over Sam Houston on December 28 before also leading Tech with 21 points on New Year’s Day against North Alabama to conclude non-conference play… Against Sam Houston, Isaacs made five 3-pointers for the fourth time in his career – including last season at Texas when he scored 23 points as a freshman against the Longhorns… In his second season at Tech, Isaacs also had 18 points and four assists at Butler, including hitting the game-tying layup as time expired in regulation to force overtime… Proving to be a clutch player for the Red Raiders, Isaacs also hit the game-winner against UNI with 0.8 on the clock and finished with 18 points and four 3-pointers for the second straight game in the Bahamas… In the preseason, Isaacs also went off for 30 points after going 6-for-10 on 3-pointers in the exhibition win over Texas A&M where he also led the team with three steals… Last season, he made 62 3-pointers (37.8%), including making five 3-pointers in games against Nicholls, TCU, and Texas… Isaacs scored a previous career-high 24 points in the non-conference game against Nicholls and also had 23 points at Texas after he went off by making 5-of-9 3-pointers against the Longhorns… Isaacs made 24 starts last year and earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors during his first season at Tech where he averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game… He finished third in scoring among freshmen in the Big 12 and was fourth throughout the conference by averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers per game… Isaacs is currently averaging 15.4 points per game in March

Joe Toussaint was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention following a regular season where he led Tech with 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game to go along with scoring 12.3 points per game… Toussaint will be playing in his fourth NCAA Tournament after playing for Iowa in the 2021 and 2022 tournaments and in the 2023 tournament while playing for West Virginia… In Kansas City against BYU, Toussaint led Tech with four assists and had 10 points in the Big 12 quarterfinal win before contributing 10 points (8-for-8 on free throws), three assists, and two steals in the semifinal loss to Houston… He matched a season-high with 21 points at West Virginia and also added a team-high seven assists and three steals… A fifth-year senior in his first season at Tech, Toussaint has started all 33 games for the Red Raiders, he has seven or more assists in five games this season after his performance at WVU where he played last season… From The Bronx, New York, he has 1,192 points, 511 assists, and 185 steals in his career and is fourth among all active NCAA players with 165 games played… Toussaint has led Tech in scoring seven times this season – most recently at WVU… He ranked 8th in the Big 12 with a 2.00 assist-to-turnover ratio with only one turnover against UCF, TCU, Iowa State and KU… Against TCU on Jan. 30, Toussaint had a Big 12-high nine assists… A clutch player for the Red Raiders, Toussaint made a tough inside shot and added a free throw with 30 seconds remaining for the game-winning points against K-State in a game where he led the Red Raiders in scoring with 12 points… Toussaint reached the 1,000-point milestone in the home win over Oklahoma State on January 9 where he finished with 13 points… Tech’s team leader with 33.2 minutes per game, Toussaint is 121-for-140 (86.4%) at the free-throw line which is fifth in the Big 12 after he went 13-for-15 in the Big 12 Championship… He ranks 8th in the Big 12 with 143 total assists after his 24th game with three or more this season… Toussaint has scored in double figures in 22 of 33 games this season, including the first eight of the season and then the first three Big 12 games… Toussaint had a career-high 12 assists and scored 18 points for his first double-double of the season in the overtime loss at Butler in the Big 12-Big East Battle… To begin the season, he scored the first four points of Tech’s season in the opener against Texas A&M-Commerce and finished with 10 points to go along with three rebounds and an assists in his Tech debut… A 6-foot guard, he is in his fifth and final season of college basketball after playing his first three seasons at Iowa and then last year at West Virginia… The New Yorker played against Texas Tech four times as an opponent in his career, including three times last season while at WVU and once while at Iowa in 2019… He scored his career-high 22 points against the Red Raiders in Lubbock after making a career-high 12 free throws and has now scored 20 or more four times in his career (two times this season)… He had his first career double-double with 11 assists and 11 points against Alabama State back on Nov. 18, 2021, while playing at Iowa… Toussaint played at WVU last season where he averaged 9.4 points and had 89 assists… In the preseason, he started against Texas A&M in the exhibition game, finishing with a team-high seven assists and having six points and three rebounds in 36 minutes of play… Toussaint’s 22 games this season in double figures is only behind Isaacs and now has him with 48 double-figure scoring games in his career… His points-assist double-double at Butler was the first for Tech since John Roberson had 12 points and 12 assists against Iowa State in 2011

Kerwin Walton went for 12 points and a career-high seven rebounds in the Big 12 quarterfinal win over BYU before scoring eight with two 3-pointers against Houston in the semifinals… He was 2-for-4 on 3-pointers against BYU and Houston and is now leading the Big 12 by shooting 47.0 percent (62-for-132) on 3-pointers this season and was 14th in the conference with 1.94 3-pointers per game… A starter in 25 straight games, he falls below the 2.5 made 3-pointers per game minimum set by the NCAA which has Dayton’s Koby Brea topping the nation at 49.7%… At Houston in the regular season, he went 6-for-9 on 3-pointers and led Tech with 18 points against the Cougars for his top Big 12 performance this season… Walton made two 3-pointers and finished with eight points to help Tech to the win over Baylor in the regular-season finale… He also scored 18 points at UCF after going 4-for-9 on 3-pointers for his eighth game this season with three or more 3-pointers and his sixth game with four or more… A senior, who is in his second season at Tech after playing two at North Carolina, Walton is averaging 8.5 points per game this season after he also went for 14 points with three 3-pointers against TCU… He had 12 points against UCF in the first matchup in Lubbock after going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers before making two 3s against Kansas and finishing with eight points in the win… From Hopkins, Minnesota, he has played in 119 career games where he has scored 711 points for his career… Walton made his first start of the season against ORU, finishing with 17 points on 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc after he had scored a career-high 22 points as a reserve by going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers in the win over Omaha… Last season, Walton started seven games for the Red Raiders after he had started 21 in his first two years at North Carolina… A senior with another year of eligibility remaining after this season, he is in his second season at Texas Tech after playing two years at North Carolina… He averaged 3.6 points with 23 3-pointers made in 27 games played last year for the Red Raiders with seven starts… As a freshman at North Carolina, Walton made 58 3-pointers, averaged 8.2 points, started 20 games, and set the UNC freshman percentage record at 42.0 percent… Walton had a previous career-high 19 points against Louisville as a freshman at UNC where he made a career-high five 3-pointers… He was a sophomore on the 2022 North Carolina team that advanced to the NCAA National Championship game… For his career, Walton is 166-for-391 (42.5%) on 3-pointers and maintains one more season of eligibility after this year

Chance McMillian led Tech with 15 points against No. 1 Houston in the Big 12 semifinals in his first start of the season after going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers… He is a senior who transferred to Tech from Grand Canyon where he played in two NCAA Tournaments… McMillian reached the 1,000-point milestone against BYU after going for 17 points and leading Tech with eight rebounds… He now has 1,019 career points in 123 games played in his career and has a season-high six straight double-figure scoring performances after also providing 11 points in the win over Baylor in the regular-season finale, 14 points at Oklahoma State, 19 points with five 3-pointers at WVU, and scoring 10 against Texas… McMillian was a two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week selection this season and finished the regular season averaging 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game… A reserve in 31 games before the start against Houston, he missed his only game of the season with a sore hip at UCF but returned to have a career-high nine rebounds and also provided those 10 points against the Longhorns… He is currently 65-for-164 (39.6%) on 3-pointers for the season and is 174-for-432 (40.3%) for his career… In his fourth season of college basketball, but first at Tech, he averaged 11.5 points per game in Big 12 play and made 32 3-pointers (36.0%)… A Vallejo, California native, he is currently 12th in the Big 12 with his 65 total 3-pointers and is averaging 2.03 3s per game which was the 11th most in the Big 12… McMillian was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season after he went off for a career-high 27 points at Oklahoma where he was 6-for-8 on 3-pointers and also added eight rebounds to earn the award… It was the fourth game in his career with 20-plus points and the third time this season he’s led Tech in scoring… Averaging 27.8 minutes per game as the team’s sixth man, McMillian scored a previous season-high 24 points with eight 3-pointers in the road game at Butler… His six 3-pointers at OU, five at TCU and WVU, and three at Baylor gives him 10 games this season with three or more 3-pointers… McMillian transferred to Tech during the summer after playing three seasons at Grand Canyon… McMillian matched a previous career-high with 24 points at Butler where he established a new career-best with eight 3-pointers and also led the team with seven rebounds in 36 minutes as a reserve… In non-conference play, he earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the first time with a performance at Butler where his eight 3-pointers were just one back of the program record set by Alan Voskuil against Kansas back in 2009… It was the first time a Tech player has made six or more 3-pointers since Toddrick Gotcher made six in 2015 against UT Martin… He also led the Red Raiders in scoring with 17 points in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 25 minutes as a reserve before having nine points with three 3-pointers against Villanova in the first game in the Bahamas… Against Texas A&M in Tech’s exhibition, McMillian scored 17 points with four 3-pointers as a reserve in 23 minutes… He scored 24 points for the first time in his career against SFA on Feb. 24, 2023… McMillian joins former Texas Tech players Bryson Williams (2021-22), Jahmi’us Ramsey (2019-20), John Roberson (2007-08), and Rayford Young (1996-97) who have been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week two times in a season… No Red Raider has been three times… McMillian arrived at Tech after a junior season at Grand Canyon where he averaged 10.9 points per game and had 78 assists last season… Although playing as a reserve, he led Tech with 33:03 of playing time in the win over BYU… In his first year at Tech, he is a senior with another year of eligibility after this year following playing at Grand Canyon where he also advanced to the 2021 and 2023 NCAA Tournaments

Robert Jennings made his ninth start of the season and contributed six points and five rebounds against Houston after going for 10 points and seven rebounds against BYU in the quarterfinal win… He is now averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game… Against Baylor in the regular-season finale he provided eight points and seven rebounds after a game at OSU where he had eight points and six rebounds… Williams started the final four games of the regular season and averaged 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in the final five games… He had finished with five points and seven rebounds at WVU after having four points and four rebounds against the Longhorns… A Desoto, Texas native, Jennings scored in double figures for the second time this season with 13 points at Iowa State after going 4-for-7 from the field and 5-for-7 at the free-throw line… Jennings has played in 30 games this season with nine starts… A sophomore forward, he went for eight points and four rebounds in the win over Kansas after providing six points and three rebounds in the win over UCF… He scored a career-high 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting against Cincinnati along with adding six rebounds… Jennings had two points and four rebounds in his first start of the season at Baylor… At 6-foot-7, Jennings produced a career-high eight rebounds against Oral Roberts where he secured seven offensive rebounds in the game in just under 10 minutes on the court… He started four games last season as a true freshman and had a previous career-high eight points in games against Houston Christian, Oklahoma, and Louisville last season… Jennings played in 30 games with those four starts last season as a true freshman where he averaged 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game… He comes into the NCAA Tournament with 212 points and 159 rebounds through 60 games played in his Texas Tech career
Warren Washington missed his ninth game of the season by not playing in the Big 12 semifinals against Houston with a foot injury that has had him out six straight games and in eight of the last nine… Washington returned to the starting lineup in Orlando (Feb. 24) after he had missed the previous two games against TCU and at Iowa State with a foot injury but was limited to 12:34 of playing time… Before the injury, he went for 11 points, six rebounds, and had one blocked shot in the win over Kansas… He is averaging 9.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game… Washington missed his first game of the season at Baylor due to illness but returned with force, going for 11 rebounds, 10 points, and two blocked shots in the home win over UCF… Washington has started 24 of 29 games for Tech this season… He currently is third in the Big 12 with 1.5 blocks per conference game and is fourth in rebounding within the conference… A 7-foot senior from California, Washington produced a season-high 19 points and added nine rebounds in the win over BYU… He has led Tech in rebounding 11 times… Washington went for 11 points and eight rebounds in the win over K-State, reaching the 1,000-point career milestone and boosting his season average to 10.0 ppg. for the first time this season… He had scored in double-figures for a season-best four straight games before falling four short in Houston but has now had 12 double-figures scoring performances this season and 56 in his career… Washington now has 1,078 points, 747 rebounds, and 149 blocked shots in 133 games played… The tallest Red Raider on the roster, he had made 11 straight shots – dating back to a dunk against Sam Houston midway through the second half before going 5-for-5 from the field in the games against North Alabama and Texas – before shooting 7-for-10 against Oklahoma State and going 5-for-8 against K-State… He’s currently shooting 101-for-163 (62.0%) from the field for the season and 418-for-711 (58.8%) for his career… McCasland’s third signee, he recorded his first double-double of the season and 10th of his career with a season-high 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Oral Roberts… His 12 rebounds against ORU were the third time this season he had 12 rebounds in a game, including in the season-opener against Commerce and then against Omaha… Washington recorded a season-high four blocked shots for the first time against Villanova at Battle 4 Atlantis where he also had eight rebounds… In his sixth year of college, he has also played at Oregon State, Nevada, and Arizona State before making Texas Tech his final destination in his collegiate career… An Escondido, California native, he has 18 double-figure rebounding games, and a team-best 11 double-doubles through those 133 games in his career… He is coming off a season at Arizona State where he averaged 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds and earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors… Washington started for the Red Raiders in the exhibition win over Texas A&M, finishing with a team-high seven rebounds but not scoring… In a scrimmage against UTEP, Washington led Tech with 16 points after going 7-for-9 from the field… His career resume includes a career-high 21 points in games against Wyoming and Southern Cal and a 14-rebound performance against Texas Southern last season while at ASU… Washington has 149 career blocks with at least one in every game this season except against Commerce, K-State, TCU, Cincinnati, and at UCF – he had a career-high five blocks last season against San Diego and had a season-best four blocks against North Alabama and Villanova

Tech’s roster has one true freshman on it with Eemeli Yalaho who enters the NCAA Tournament following a career-high 10 points and 25 minutes of play against Houston in the Big 12 semifinals… He is averaging 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in the past five games… Yalaho, who went 3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line for his first game in double-figure scoring, has played in 17 games this season where he is averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds… He recorded a previous career-high eight points at UCF where he went 3-for-3 from the field with two 3-pointers and was coming off a game against Baylor where he had seven points and three rebounds… At Oklahoma State, he had four points and five rebounds in a career-high 22 minutes of playing time… He came into the game against UCF having scored three points total for the season… Yalaho provided a spark at West Virginia where he finished the game with six points after going 3-for-3 from the field and is now averaging 1.5 points per game… Yalaho, who has now played in 17 games this season, scored two points in six minutes of play in the opener against Commerce to make his collegiate debut and played in his first Big 12 game against Cincinnati and scored his first conference point with a free throw at Baylor… An international player from Jyväskylä, Finland, he completed high school with his senior season at Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio) where he averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game

Lamar Washington provided five rebounds and four points in 24 minutes of play against Houston in the Big 12 semifinals… He has played in 30 games this season in a reserve role where he is averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game… In his second season at Tech, the sophomore scored a season-high eight points against Omaha in non-conference play… At Texas, Washington had four points and contributed two points in the one-point win over K-State and two against BYU… He had matched a previous season-high with seven points and added three assists against Villanova after he had scored a season-high seven points in just under 30 minutes of play as a reserve against Corpus Christi… With 62 games of experience, he has four games this season with three or more assists and 13 in his career… In the season opener, he led Tech with four assists and also added five points and four rebounds in the win over Commerce and then had four points and four rebounds against San Jose State… Washington is in his second season at Tech after averaging 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as a freshman… He finished with 13 points and two steals in the exhibition win over Texas A&M where he played 24 minutes as a reserve… Washington had a career-high 13 points and five steals last season in a win over Kansas State at home… He played in 32 games and made three starts during the 2022-23 season… A 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard, Washington is a Portland, Oregon native who was named the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year before finishing prep school in Arizona… Washington has 171 points, 102 rebounds, 80 assists, and 38 steals through his 62 career games

Jack Francis is a sophomore walk-on from Austin who was on the practice squad last season and earned his spot on this season’s roster… Francis is the team’s only walk-on and is an accomplished player who scored over 1,000 points at Anderson High School… Francis scored for the first time in his career by going 2-for-2 on free throws against Sam Houston and had two rebounds and an assist against Kansas… Francis has played in five games this season

Devan Cambridge suffered his season-ending injury with 983 points and 515 rebounds in his career… He was averaging a career-high 10.5 points this season after he scored a season-high 17 points in the win over Michigan in a game where he was 6-for-10 from the field before going for 16 points at Butler on 6-for-11 shooting… He scored in double figures in five of eight games this season and in 45 games through 135 games in his career… Cambridge got into double figure scoring for the second time this season with 11 points against Villanova and was shooting 52.7 percent which was second on the team… He led Tech in scoring for the first time this season with 15 points in the win over San Jose State before his 17 against Michigan… A 6-foot-6 fifth-year senior from Nashville, Tennessee, he averaged 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game to go along with his scoring… Cambridge began his career with three seasons at Auburn before playing last season at Arizona State… He averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season for the Sun Devils and helped ASU to the second round of the NCAA Tournament… Cambridge has made 116 3-pointers and is 360-for-821 (43.8%) from the field in his career… He scored a career-high 26 points against South Carolina as a freshman on January 22, 2020, and had a career-best 11 rebounds against San Diego on December 18, 2022… Cambridge started against Texas A&M in Tech’s exhibition win, scoring 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 on 3-pointers… For his career, Cambridge has recorded five double-doubles and has scored 20 or more points in two games

McCasland’s staff includes assistant coaches Dave Smart, Matt Braeuer, Achoki Moikobu, and Luke Barnwell along with Kellen Buffington (general manager), Andrew Wright (strength & conditioning), Clay Wilson (player development), Jardon Powell (director of administration and operations), Cooper Anderson (operations), Chris Nottingham (video coordinator), and Christian Hosley (assistant strength & conditioning). Braeuer, Moikobu, Wright, Wilson, and Hosley worked with McCasland at UNT

RECENT PROGRAM NOTES
The Red Raiders have advanced to 19 overall NCAA Tournament appearances, including reaching the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 National Championship Final, and 2022 Sweet 16. This is the 99th season in program history and includes recent appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, a 2019 Big 12 regular-season championship, 25 NBA Draft selections, and over 1,500 wins. Recently in the NBA Draft, selections of Zhaire Smith (R1-P16), Jarrett Culver (R1-P6), and Jahmi’us Ramsey (R2-P43) were made. Mac McClung represented the program by winning the 2023 and 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Tech went 15-2 at home this season after going 18-0 at home during the 2021-22 season for the best record nationally two years ago

RANKINGS
Texas Tech heads into the postseason ranked No. 22 in both national polls and for the second straight week… The team returned to the national rankings at No. 25 last week in the AP Top 25 and No. 23 in the USA TODAY Coaches Polls after it was unranked for the previous two weeks
Tech dropped out of the national rankings after being at No. 23 following splitting games with a win over TCU and a loss at UCF
Tech was ranked for the fourth straight week after entering in the Week 11 poll at No. 25 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (January 15, 2024)… Tech was at No. 15 (Jan. 29) for its highest ranking of the season
Tech came into the 2023-24 season unranked AP Preseason Poll and had remained unranked in the Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, and Jan. 8 polls
Tech received votes for the first time this season with 62 in the January 8 poll after the win over the Longhorns in Austin

The No. 15 national ranking was the highest since the program was No. 12 in the AP Top 25 at the end of the 2022 season

The Red Raiders were at No. 25 to begin the 2022-23 season following advancing to the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16… Tech was in the first three polls last season and rose as high as No. 21 before falling out and not returning
Tech was picked 8th in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Poll… Kansas was picked first in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Poll followed by Houston, Texas, Baylor, and TCU to round out the Top-5

Texas Tech did not have a player selected in the 2024 preseason awards

Tech’s highest AP ranking in program history came at No. 6 in February of 2018 (16th Week Poll)… The 2018-19 team was No. 8 in the final week of the regular season and No. 7 throughout the postseason that led to the 2019 National Championship Final

RED RAIDER 20-WIN SEASONS (17 in 99 seasons)
1939-40: 21-7 – Berl Huffman
1948-49: 21-9 – Polk Robison
1953-54: 21-5 – Polk Robison
1975-76: 25-6 – Gerald Meyers
1976-77: 20-9 – Gerald Meyers
1984-85: 23-8 – Gerald Meyers
1994-95: 20-10 – James Dickey
1995-96: 30-2 – James Dickey
2001-02: 23-9 – Bob Knight (*first season)
2002-03: 22-13 – Bob Knight
2003-04: 23-11 – Bob Knight
2004-05: 22-11 – Bob Knight
2006-07: 21-13 – Bob Knight
2017-18: 27-10 – Chris Beard
2018-19: 31-7 – Chris Beard (*program’s most wins in a season)
2021-22: 27-10 – Mark Adams (*first season)
2023-24: 23-10 – Grant McCasland (*first season)