College Basketball
College Hoops Preview: #2 Duke vs #12 Texas Tech
- Matchup: #2 Duke Blue Devils (10-1) vs. # 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-0)
- Date: Dec. 20, 2018
- Time: 7 p.m. (est)
- Network: ESPN2
- Location: New York, New York, USA
- Venue: MSG
- Seating Capacity: 19K
Showdown In The Garden
Duke travels to Madison Square Garden for a top 15 matchup with the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. The Red Raiders come into the matchup undefeated at 10-0, with only one marquee win coming against Nebraska on November 20th.
The Starters
Duke
Center – #12 Javin DeLaurier
Forward – #01 Zion Williamson
Small Forward – #05 RJ Barrett
Guard – #02 Cam Reddish
Point Guard – #03 Tre Jones
Texas Tech
Center – #32 Norense Odiase
Forward – #11 Tariq Ownes
Shooting Guard – #13 Matt Mooney
Combo Guard – #23 Jarrett Culver
Combo Guard – #25 Davide Moretti
Texas Tech Rundown
Texas Tech comes into Thursday nights game with the best defense in the country. Head Coach Chris Beard is a defensive minded coach and plays his team in a man to man half-court defense. Though Texas Tech plays the same style of defense that Duke does, they don’t look to force turnovers and run in transition. The Red Raiders’ defense wants to tire their opponents out. Beard wants his team to slow games down and force opponents to play at their pace. Through 10 games, Texas Tech has allowed opponents to score just 51.2 points per game, tied for first in the country. As for their defensive leaders, Forward Tariq Owens (2.7 BPG) and guard Matt Mooney (2.2 SPG) lead the Red Raiders.
As for the offensive side of the court, Texas Tech has been in the middle of the pack. They are led by guard Jarrett Culver on offense. The sophomore guard has scored 19.1 points per game while shooting an astounding .581% from the field and .452% from beyond the arc. Culver is also the teams leading rebounder (5.7 RPG) and passer (4.5).
How Can Duke Counter?
Considering Duke will be facing the nations best defense, they have to figure out a different way of scoring on offense. What can Duke do to counter the country’s best defense?
Odds are that the Red Raiders will force Duke to play offense more in the half court rather than in transition, Duke’s strong suit. Duke has struggled at times playing in the half court on offense. In Duke’s lone loss to Gonzaga, they struggled on offense because they were rarely able to play in transition. When the Blue Devils were on offense, shot selection was abysmal. They went down early because Gonzaga made shots and slowed down the pace of the game.
For Duke to score in the half court, they have to put the ball in Tre Jones’ hands. Jones can drive to the hoop as well as any guard in the country, so Duke needs their freshman point guard to penetrate the defense and find an open cutter or shooter. With slashing wings like RJ Barrett and a shooter like Cam Reddish, Duke can score on each level.
If Jones can effectively drive into the lane, whoever is guarding Duke’s post player will be forced to slide and play help defense and leave Zion Williamson, Javin DeLaurier, or Marques Bolden open down low.
Prediction
Texas Tech has yet to play a top team in the country. Yes, their defense is incredible, but even if they shut down Duke’s transition game, it won’t stop Duke. Tre Jones is going to show that he is the best point guard in the country tonight and prove that Duke can score in the half court, not just in transition.
Duke: 85
Texas Tech: 68
Follow us on YouTube and Twitter
Photo Credit: Duke Basketball via Twitter
