Texas Tech star forward JT Toppin sustained a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season, the school announced Wednesday.
An MRI confirmed the severity of the injury for Toppin, who was hurt while driving to the basket with 6:03 remaining in the Red Raiders’ 72-67 loss to Arizona State on Tuesday. He was assisted to the locker room a few minutes later and did not return.
Toppin, a junior, is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year. He leads No. 13 Texas Tech in scoring (21.8), rebounding (10.8) and blocked shots (1.7).
“I’ve said from Day 1 the best player in this league is JT Toppin,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said when asked about Toppin as Big 12 Player of the Year. “He is the hardest guy to game plan for. And they do, and they’ve set their personnel around him, where you got to make a decision on Toppin.
But here comes (Donovan) Atwell, we were in a position to win the game at (Texas) Tech, but who hit the two key shots? Hard shots, contested shots at well in that right corner, that’s six points. He hit the same shots, but that’s the beauty of conference play. Players, they can make plays, and fortunately for us, we have the same thing.”
The Red Raiders (19-7, 9-4 Big 12) return to action on Saturday against Kansas State in Lubbock, Texas.
