Game Info
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-0, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Duke Blue Devils (10-1, 0-0)
When to Watch: Thursday, December 20th @ 6:00 p.m.
Where to Watch: Madison Square Garden | New York, New York
How to Watch: ESPN2 | WatchESPN
How to Listen: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
The Line: Duke -8.5 (OddsShark)
Advanced Stats
| Texas Tech | Duke | |
|---|---|---|
| KenPom | 10 | 1 |
| KP AdjO | 44 | 2 |
| KP AdjD | 1 | 4 |
| T-Rank | 12 | 1 |
| T-Rank O | 59 | 2 |
| T-Rank D | 4 | 6 |
| Haslemetric | 10 | 1 |
Lineups
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
|---|---|---|
| POINT GUARD | Davide Moretti (6-3/175) | 9.3 / 2.7* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | Matt Mooney (6-3/200) | 11.0 / 3.5* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Jarrett Culver (6-5/195) | 19.1 / 4.5* |
| POWER FORWARD | Tariq Owens (6-10/205) | 8.5 / 5.3 |
| CENTER | Norense Odiase (6-9/245) | 4.4 / 5.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Kyler Edwards (6-3/200) | 7.9 / 2.7 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Brandone Francis (6-5/215) | 5.3 / 3.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Deshawn Corprew (6-5/210) | 7.4 / 4.5 |
| NINTH MAN | Malik Ondigo (6-10/215) | 2.0 / 1.6 |
| TENTH MAN | Josh Mballa (6-7/215) | 0.9 / 0.4 |
| ELEVENTH MAN | Khavon Moore (6-7/215) | – |
| THE STARTERS | Pts / Reb | |
| POINT GUARD | Tre Jones (6-2/183) | 8.3 / 5.6* |
| SHOOTING GUARD | R.J. Barrett (6-7/202) | 24.5 / 4.1* |
| SMALL FORWARD | Cam Reddish (6-8/218) | 14.0 / 3.2 |
| POWER FORWARD | Zion Williamson (6-7/285) | 20.1 / 9.1 |
| CENTER | Javin DeLaurier (6-10/234) | 5.1 / 4.3 |
| THE BENCH | Pts / Reb | |
| SIXTH MAN | Jack White (6-7/222) | 7.1 / 7.0 |
| SEVENTH MAN | Alex O’Connell (6-6/183) | 5.5 / 2.0 |
| EIGHTH MAN | Marques Bolden (6-11/250) | 4.8 / 4.2 |
| NINTH MAN | Jordan Goldwire (6-2/181) | 0.9 / 1.2 |
| TENTH MAN | Justin Robinson (6-10/202) | 2.2 / 0.8 |
* Assists.
Starting 5
1. Stats. Hey you guys, Duke is elite. Like 2018-Villanova type of elite and it’s pretty awesome that Texas Tech gets this opportunity. Duke isn’t really bad at anything, you know, like some teams have a weakness, well, not so much with Duke, they’re pretty well dominant in just about every category. And Texas Tech is no fluke, they’re pretty good and most teams can’t claim to have defense that Texas Tech has, it’s just slightly better than what Duke has done this year. But the Blue Devils are so danged good on offense, it’s a bit scary. Consider that the only team that Duke has lost to, Gonzaga, has the #1 AdjO, which means that it might take an elite offense to get around the Blue Devils.
2. Scouting. Please don’t get tired of gushing over the Blue Devils, they’ve got two or three once-in-a-decade type of player, leading with Zion Williamson. The 285 pounds is no misprint, he’s a huge, agile, and incredibly gifted human being who is supremely talented at playing basketball. R.J. Barrett isn’t far behind, Williamson is expected to go 1st in the 2019 NBA Draft and Barrett will probably go 3rd and it wouldn’t surprise me if Reddish went in the top 5. Barrett is terrific in transition and can sometimes hog the ball a bit, but that’s a really small thing in the grand scheme of things.
3. How They Match Up. Make no mistake that Texas Tech has potentially a top 15 player in Jarrett Culver. Culver’s biggest jumps in his game have been the ability to distribute the ball, where he’s gone from an assist percentage of 12.9% to 31.4%. That’s huge for the good of the team. You also add into the scoring and you’ve essentially replaced Keenan Evans with perhaps a better scoring big guard. Where Texas Tech will need to shine is on defense, a collective effort and all of the small guys have to step up and make some defensive plays. Not only that, but the Red Raiders are going to have to make shots as well, that’s Duke’s biggest weakness. Guys like Francis, Mooney, Moretti, Corprew, and Culver will need to make those outside shots. And who covers Williamson? My thought is that Corprew is the best option.
4. Reading Material.
* A-J Media’s Carolos Silva, Jr.: Texas Tech’s Owens eager for Duke matchup
* The Chronicle’s Mitchell Gladstone: Five Things: Texas Tech searching for signature win against Duke men’s basketball
* DallasNews’ Chuck Carlton: Texas Tech has impressed this season, but has an opportunity to further validate its historic start vs. Duke
* CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander: Court Report: Chris Holtmann on Ohio State’s 10-1 start and why Duke-Texas Tech could be December’s best game
* ESPN’s Myron Medcalf: The realest thing in hoops this week: Duke-Texas Tech could go either way
5. Official Site. The official site has their preview right there:
“Eliminating distractions is everything. Not only in basketball, but also in life. You have to focus on what you’re trying to get done and then have a plan to get it done. There are a lot of distractions this time of year with holidays and social media. I think one thing we do is embrace the reality. We don’t shy away from this. It’s a great opportunity on national television, historic Duke, sellout, Madison Square Garden, future NBA players. We don’t shy away from that. I’ve never considered myself the smartest guy in the room so we won’t play mind games. We’ll put it all out there on the table. We closed the door on the Abilene Christian game that we played really well in and then introduced the next opponent. Part of introducing Duke is embracing the reality of what this is. This is a great opportunity for our program.”
And if you don’t read that quote and want to find someone in your life that can motivate you like that, then maybe we’re not friends.