No. 19 Texas Tech visits No. 23 Kentucky for an exhibition Friday, October 23. The Red Raiders have an immediate frontcourt question: who handles those minutes while two important forwards are out? Texas Tech says JT Toppin is progressing in his recovery from last February's season-ending injury and will be unavailable to begin the season. The same preview says Jamichael Stillwell will not play at Kentucky.
Those absences leave Grant McCasland with a chance to learn how the rest of his roster handles the physical work against a ranked opponent. Stillwell averaged 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds at UCF last season, according to Tech. Toppin is a two-time consensus All-American. Those are different players with different histories, and one exhibition cannot reproduce either one's contribution by moving a name into his spot.
Tech has more options than those two names. Darrion Williams has returned to the program, and Bassala Bagayoko joins after playing professionally in Spain. The official roster also lists forwards Josiah Moseley and Marial Akuentok. Which combinations McCasland actually uses Friday will be more informative than assigning a complete rotation in advance.
There is a practical reason to watch the glass and the space around the basket. Without Toppin and Stillwell, Tech needs to find out who can finish a defensive possession with a rebound, who can make Kentucky defend inside and how its guards help when a frontcourt matchup becomes difficult. Donovan Atwell's program-record 130 made threes last season give the offense an established outside threat. The exhibition can show whether that shooting has enough support inside to make defenders choose.
Kentucky brings its own rebuilt group, so this will be an imperfect laboratory. Tech's preview lists five returning Red Raiders and nine newcomers. A single preseason game cannot certify the rotation that will open Big 12 play. It can make the next personnel decision more concrete, especially while Toppin's return date remains unsettled. CBR's earlier Kentucky spacing story examined the other side of this matchup. Friday gives Tech its first public test against that frontcourt.
