The number 2 seed Duke Blue Devils have advanced to the Elite 8, defeating Texas Tech 78-73. The Blue Devils’ next opponent in their Final Four quest is Arkansas who pulled off the upset against the number 1 overall seed Gonzaga earlier Thursday night. Duke’s Sweet 16 victory is head coach Mike Krzyzewski his 100th NCAA tournament win.
March is about guard play. Jeremy Roach scored just four points in the first half against KenPoms’ top rated defensive team in the country, but took over in the second half – dropping 11 points and dishing out 5 assists. Freshman stud Paolo Banchero scored a pivotal 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 5 of 6 from the charity stripe.
ACC Defensive Player of The Year Mark Williams made his presence felt in the packed line defense of the Red Raiders with multiple dunks, but more importantly has three blocks. Williams finished with 16 points, and 8 rebounds.
The Blue Devils had five players in double figures, with eight players tallying minutes of action.
The game had 13 lead changes, as both teams left it all on the court. The first four minutes of the contest Duke wasn’t ready for that type of expertise according to Coach K, but once his team settled down from going through 3 turnovers in the first 3 minutes of the game, Duke played like Duke.
The Stat
Texas Tech was 2-4 in games their opponents scored 70 points or more. When they held teams under 69 points they were 25-5. Duke shot 71% from the field in the second half against the best defense in the country, the highest Texas Tech has allowed in 7 years, according to CBS’s Seth Davis. That number nearly doubled the 37% shot in the first half from the Blue Devils.
Notable Quote
“Great Players find a way to get the ball and make big plays, and Banchero certainly found a way to do that” Texas Tech Head Coach Mark Adams