Duke scored its final eight field goals to give coach Mike Krzyzewski his 100th tournament win. Texas Tech led for most of the contest but Duke’s 78-73 win places them in the Elite 8. For back-to-back games, the Blue Devils finished the second half on a shooting streak.
Even as the Blue Devils weren’t missing, Red Raider Bryson Williams was a force in the paint. Mark Williams finally stopped Bryson Williams’ shot attempt with 2:39 to go and Jeremy Roach responded with consecutive scores. Duke was ahead 73-68. Adonis Arms went in for an easy dunk after Roach missed his first 1-and-1 attempt. Wendell Moore was fouled and made both free throws but Arms put in a much-needed three for a 75-73 score. A.J. Griffin put the game out of reach at the line. The Blue Devils were 71 percent on field goals in the second half.
From tip-off, Texas Tech punished Duke’s offensive mistakes. With Duke committing three live-ball turnovers and going 1-9 on field goals, Texas Tech was up by eight points. Krzyzewski used a timeout and the Blue Devils played more calmly, flipping a 12-4 Raider score to a 12-12 tie on Paolo Banchero’s free throw. But even as the Red Raider defense was somewhat less imposing, the implications of those first few minutes were resonant. Duke continued to miss the rim or hit just the backboard on shots that weren’t contested. A scoring drought would last for five minutes. In addition, the Red Raiders made it nearly impossible for Mark Williams to receive any post touches. Kevin Obanor floated the ball for a 33-26 Red Raider score then blocked Roach during the next possession. Davion Warren reached in as Banchero dunked so Banchero’s ensuing free throw slimmed the lead to 33-29. When the Red Raiders led at halftime, they had been 22-4 for the season.
Krzyzewski installed the 2-3 zone in response to the Raiders executing in the paint. Banchero turned for a short baseline jumper at 11:37 for a 49-47 Blue Devils lead, the first since six minutes were left in the first half. The Raiders figured out the zone while the game stayed relatively close. Krzyzewski was convinced to switch back to man-to-man defense by his players. “I really think that if we kept going like that, we wouldn’t have won the game,” said Krzyzewski. “They’re such a good basketball team and they keep coming with players.” Bryson Williams was one of those dangerous players. He scored 21 points and attempted the most free throws for the Red Raiders with just four. Foul line splits were 5-9 for Texas Tech but 15-17 for Duke. Banchero went 7-12 scoring 22 points, had three steals and four assists. Roach is back in the starting lineup to give the offense a clear identity. He assisted five times and was 7-11 for 15 points.
Arkansas took out the tournament’s No. 1 seed Gonzaga a few hours before Duke took the floor. The Elite 8 game is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday. Prospective NBA draft picks J.D. Notae appears to be Duke’s most difficult challenge.
