Hot Northern Colorado Faces Tough Road Test at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas (Interstat) — One of the nation’s surprise teams will face a major challenge Tuesday night when the surging Northern Colorado Bears visit the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Spirit Arena.

Northern Colorado (9-1) brings a nine-game winning streak to West Texas, its best start in years. The Bears’ only loss came by a single point in their season opener. They are coming off a hard-fought 89-87 overtime victory over South Dakota on Dec. 6, where guard Egan Shields scored 19 points.

Shields has been a key contributor during the streak, averaging 10.4 points per game. He scored 15 points in a win at Portland and posted 12 points and eight rebounds against Cal State Fullerton.

Texas Tech (7-3), under the bright lights of the Big 12 Conference, presents a significant step up in competition. The Red Raiders are looking to bounce back from an 93-86 road loss at Arkansas on Saturday. In that game, forward JT Toppin was dominant, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Toppin has been a force all season, averaging 20.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He recorded a 19-point, 16-rebound double-double against New Orleans and scored 27 in a win over Wyoming.

The Bears have shown resilience, winning three games in overtime this season, including their last outing. Zach Bloch (18 points) and Ibu Yamazaki (13 points) joined Shields as top performers against South Dakota.

Texas Tech’s schedule has been arduous, with losses to then-Purdue and Arkansas. Their defense, which held LSU to 58 points in a win, will test a Northern Colorado offense averaging 84.2 points.

This is the first meeting between the programs. For Northern Colorado, it’s a final non-conference tune-up before Big Sky play begins. For Texas Tech, it’s a crucial home game before a marquee matchup with Duke in New York on Saturday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST Tuesday.