Preview: #3 Duke Blue Devils (11-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-3, 0-0 Big 12)

#3 Duke Blue Devils (11-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #19 Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-3, 0-0 Big 12)

Saturday, Dec. 20 • 8:00 p.m. ET

Madison Square Garden (19,812) • New York, N.Y. • SentinelOne Classic

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

No. 3 Duke returns to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 20 in the SentinelOne Classic, to face No. 19 Texas Tech. Texas Tech will be the Blue Devils’ fifth top-25 opponent this season.

TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dan Shulman
Analyst Jay Bilas
Producer Matthew Bartley

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer Chris Majikowski
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 161 or 193 & SiriusXM app

Last season, Grant McCasland and the Red Raiders went 28-9 on the season, with a 15-5 record in the Big 12. They earned a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they Won 3 games. So far on the season, they are 8 and 3. Their 3 losses on the season have come against ranked teams.

JT Topping lead Texas Tech in scoring with 21.9 points per game, he’s also leading the team in rebounding with 10.6 rebounds he also averages 2 assists per game. Christian Anderson is right behind Toppin, averaging 19.3 points per game, he leads the Red Raiders with 7.5 assists per game – he ranks fourth in the nation with 82 assists. Grant Mcasland has 2 other double-figure scorers in LeJuan Watts at 14 points per game and Donovan Atwell at 11.3 points per game. The Red Raiders are top 50 in offensive rebounding, and 22nd in 3-pointers made per game.

Last Time Out:

Last time out the red raiders won a tough battle with Norther Colorado, 101 to 90, led by a career high 36 pts from LeJuan Watts, going 12-for-13 from the field and JT Toppin scored 23 points and matched a career-high with five blocked shots.

The Blue Devils are coming off of a 35-4 season that saw them within a game of a title shot. Duke went 19-1 in conference, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament.

The Blue Devils welcome in a number 1 recruiting class after their Final Four run. Jon Scheyer after losing his entire starting lineup to the NBA but retaining core pieces with experience. Leading Duke are experienced returners senior big Maliq Brown and junior guard Caleb Foster, both instrumental pieces in Duke’s run this past season. Duke also returned 3 members from last season freshman class in hot shooting Isaiah Evans, who shot a team high 41.6%. Duke also brings back Darren Harris who has reshaped his body in hopes for a larger role and Patrick Ngongba who similarly has reshaped his frame, coming into this season healthy.

Duke’s freshman class includes the Boozer brothers, Cayden and Cameron, do-it-all forward Nik Khamenia and Italian import Dame Sarr. Duke also added reserves Jack Scott and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, from Princeton and Rice, respectively. Duke also added Sebastian Wilkins, who has elected to red shirt this season.

After a tough win at home against Lipscomb, and Jon Scheyer winning his 100th ACC game, the Blue Devils move to 11 – 0 on the season. The 11-0 start equals the best open to a season since the 2017-18 campaign. The Blue Devils are No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.346) and rank fourth nationally in scoring defense (60.8) and scoring margin (+26.9). On the glass, Duke ranks ninth in the country in rebounding (43.4 rpg), seventh in defensive rebounding (30.7) and 12th in rebound margin (+11.5). Duke is second in the NET rankings, tied for the most Quad 1 wins (4), and is one of only two teams to be unbeaten with four Quad 1 wins, along with Arizona. Duke is tied for the second-longest active win streak, only trailing Nebraska (15). Duke is the top-rated defense in the country with a raw defensive efficiency rating of (86.1), while also leading the nation in effective field goal percentage defense (40.5%). Patrick Ngongba II (pictured), the ACC’s third-leading shot blocker with 1.6 swats per contest, registered his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds versus Lipscomb on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils are led in scoring by Cameron Boozer with 23.3 points per game. Boozer also leads the team with 10.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Sophomore Isaiah Evans is averaging 12.5 points per game and Patrick Ngongba 11.7 points, and 6.7 rebounds per contest.

Last Time Out:

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer tallied his 100th career victory, becoming the fastest ACC head coach to the century mark, with Duke’s 97-73 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Scheyer reached 100 career wins in just his 122nd game at the helm of the program, surpassing Duke’s Vic Bubas, who held the previous conference record of doing so in 128 games. After entering halftime with just a three-point advantage, the Blue Devils (11-0) outscored the Bisons, 49-28, in the second frame to secure the 24-point win. Cameron Boozer led the way for Duke with a 26-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Patrick Ngongba II posted his first career double-double, with 10 points and 11 boards.

Three other Blue Devils scored in double-figures, with Isaiah Evans adding 16 and the duo of Maliq Brown and Darren Harris both scoring 11. Brown finished one rebound shy of a double-double, grabbing a season-best nine caroms, and Evans’ effort was fueled by a game-high four three-pointers.

Duke finished with a +34 margin on the glass, out-rebounding Lipscomb, 55-21. The Blue Devils pulled in 20 offensive rebounds and allowed just three offensive boards by the Bisons, finishing with a 26-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Duke has battled some physical teams this season, but the Red Raiders may be at a different level. Duke, to win this game, has to win in the margins and on the boards. Lipscomb showed the Blue Devils what can happen when you aren’t playing inspired, passionate basketball. For a half of basketball, Duke was outplayed by a team with lesser talent. Texas Tech is a talented team, so if the lessens from Lipscomb aren’t put into play, then Duke will leave MSG 11-1. The assumption, at least, for me is that the referees are going to let this game become physical. Duke has to walk the line between matching the physicality of the Red Raiders and becoming foul prone and undisciplined.

Defensively, Duke has to force the Red Raiders into tough shots, they are very capable of going off from beyond the arc. Another lesson Duke has to take from the Lipscomb game is to be ready to counter the counter. Texas Tech, like Lipscomb, is a team that likes to shoot the 3. Duke took that away but left themselves vulnerable to the Lipscomb counter – which was back-door cutting. For Texas Tech, Duke has to stay strong and rebound the basketball. This is how Texas Tech, even on a bad shooting night or a night where Duke’s perimeter defense limits them, they can stay in the game. A strong effort on the boards in conjunction with tight perimeter defense is how Duke can thrive.