GREENVILLE, S.C. — Playing in the NCAA tournament's regional semifinals for the 26th time in Mike Krzyzewski's 42 seasons as Duke's coach, the Blue Devils face a team they've never previously met in the tournament.
Texas Tech rallied past Notre Dame in the game's final minutes Sunday night, topping the Irish 59-53, to advance to meet Duke on Thursday night at 9:40 p.m. at San Francisco's Chase Center.
So the Sweet 16 will pair Duke (30-6), the West Region's No. 2 seed, against the No. 3-seeded Red Raiders (27-9).
For all Duke and Krzyzewski have accomplished with five NCAA championships and 12 Final Fours in his tenure since 1980, this will be the first time the Blue Devils face Texas Tech during March Madness. The only time the teams have played previously was Dec. 20, 2018, at New York's Madison Square Garden when Duke won, 69-58.
"A lot of respect, obviously, for Coach K and Duke," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said Sunday night. "He's always been a mentor of mine, someone I looked up to. Not only is he a great coach, but a great person. Just done so much for basketball. And he's built a program which we all admire and respect. It's just one team to the next, he's got a dynasty he's built."
Here's an early look at the matchup.
What has Texas Tech accomplished?
The Red Raiders went 12-6 in the Big 12, finishing third in the regular-season standings behind co-champions Baylor and Kansas, who both received No. 1 seeds in their NCAA tournament regionals.
Texas Tech impressed by beating Kansas, 75-67, at home on Jan. 8 and then going on the road to win, 65-62, at Baylor on Jan. 11. The Red Raiders beat Baylor, 83-73, on Feb. 16 to sweep the regular-season series. But Texas Tech lost 94-91 in double-overtime at Kansas on Jan. 24 and again, 74-65, to the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament final on March 12.
While Duke was ranked No. 9 in the final Associated Press poll last week, Texas Tech was at No. 11.
In the final NET ratings, Texas Tech was No. 9 with all nine of their losses slotted in Quad 1. The Red Raiders won eight times in the top quadrant, so they've been tested against teams of Duke's caliber all season.
The Red Raiders are No. 6 in Ken Pomeroy's ratings while Duke is No. 9
What kind of team are the Red Raiders?
Texas Tech is solid in the experience area. Five seniors have played in all of their games this season, with 6-8 Bryson Williams and 6-8 Kevin Obanor starting all 36 games. The 6-5 Kevin Arms started 24 of the 36 games he's played in and 6-6 Davion Warren has started 33 of 36.
These guys are older and experienced but they weren't all on the same team until this season. Williams is a graduate transfer from Texas-El Paso, while Obanor was part of Oral Roberts' Sweet 16 run a year ago. Arms transferred to Texas Tech from Winthrop last summer.
But Texas Tech isn't as tall as Duke. Williams, Warren and Obanor are the tallest players in their rotation, along with 6-7 senior reserve Marcus Santos-Silva.
They don't measure up to Duke's starting big men: 7-1 Mark Williams and the 6-10 Paolo Banchero.
Williams leads Texas Tech in scoring at 13.9 points per game, while Obanor is the Red Raiders' leading rebounder at 5.1.
The nation's top defense
Duke will face a challenge scoring since Texas Tech is No. 1 nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings, allowing just .843 points per possession.
Teams have turned the ball over on 24.3% of their possessions against the Red Raiders, which is No. 11 nationally.
Want more traditional stats to see how good the Red Raiders are on defense? Their opponents have made 37.8% of their shots, No. 6 nationally.
"They're men," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said Sunday night after his team's loss to Texas Tech. "I mean, when you watch the center jump, our bodies compared to their bodies, whew."
According to Synergy Sports, Texas Tech has played man-to-man 95.8% of the time in half-court situations. But they also use a press defense that's limited opponents to 38.8% shooting accuracy and turnovers on 26.8% of possessions.
So Duke will have to be strong with the ball and make good passing and driving decisions to succeed. The Blue Devils, of course, are No. 4 nationally in offensive efficiency, scoring 1.2 points per possession. Duke scored 1.29 points per possession in beating Michigan State on Sunday in the second round.
