Texas Tech Controls Second Half To Take Down Utes
Jan 14, 2026, 8:59 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2026, 2:03 pm
Alex Jensen coaching Utah basketball. Photo courtesy of Utah Athletics, Utah men's basketball.
LUBBOCK, Texas – The struggling Utah Runnin’ Utes dropped their fourth consecutive Big 12 game in an 88-74 loss to Texas Tech.
The Utes (8-9, 0-4 Big 12) were in the Lone Star State to face the fifteenth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-4, 3-1 Big 12) on Wednesday, January 14.
Utah opened the night alongside Cincinnati and Kansas State as the only programs in the conference without a win. The Red Raiders are one of five Big 12 teams inside the top 15.
Final from Lubbock
Utah – 74
#15 Texas Tech – 88— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2026
J.T. Toppin led all players with 31 points, while Red Raider guard Christian Anderson drilled six threes for 26 points.
Don McHenry and Keanu Dawes each scored 18 points. Dawes added a team-high nine rebounds.
First Half
Texas Tech leapt out to a 15-6 lead at the first media timeout.
The Red Raiders hit six of their first eight attempts from the floor, including three of four from deep.
Utah went on its own 16-4 run, grabbing a 20-19 lead midway through the period on an Obomate Abbey three.
Texas Tech flipped the script once again when it went on a 17-1 run as the Utes struggled massively on both ends.
Utah missed eight straight shots while allowing seven consecutive makes for the Red Raiders. Obomate broke the scoring drought by hitting a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 42-27 with 3:51 left.
At the half from United Supermarkets Arena pic.twitter.com/EEyMAHdoKc
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2026
TTU found little resistance against Utah’s defense, shooting well over 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three in the opening half.
Red Raiders Christian Anderson and J.T. Toppin led all scorers with 18 points. The duo combined to make 14-of-21 shots from the field.
Don McHenry led Utah with 13 points as Utah trailed 50-38 at the break.
Second Half
The Utes couldn’t make any headway early in the second-half, trailing by 15 midway through the final 20 minutes.
.@terrencetbrown fires a LASER to @keanu_28 for the corner THREE👀🏀3⃣#GoUtes
📺@peacock / @nbcsn pic.twitter.com/mCFQ7uBaX5
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2026
Utah trailed by double figures for the final 17 minutes.
Texas Tech finished the game shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three.
Utah fell to 8-9 with an 88-74 loss.
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The Runnin’ Utes return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center to host the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, January 17. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. MT.
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
