WHERE: Chase Center | San Francisco, CA

WHEN: 8:39 PM, Thursday | Mar. 24th

WATCH IT ON: CBS

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 0-1 all-time against Duke. The Red Raiders played the Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on December 20, 2018, and lost, 69-58.

• The Blue Devils are 30-6 on the season, and they finished first in the ACC with a 16-4 conference record. Duke is ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They’re 2-0 against teams ranked in the top 25 this season with wins over Kentucky and Gonzaga.

• Mike Krzyzewski is on his 42nd season as head coach of the Blue Devils and has a 1,127-308 (466-193) record at the helm. Coach K has led Duke to the NCAA Tournament 36 times, and he has 99-30 tournament record with 12 Final Four appearances and five National Championships.

• Duke has the No. 8 ranked scoring offense in the country, and they’re No. 6 in field goal percentage. They’re 34th in three-point field goal percentage and 45th in three-pointers made with 292.

• The Blue Devils have the 118th ranked scoring defense in college basketball, and they’re 82nd in field goal percentage allowed. Their defense is 310th in turnovers forced. They’re 184th in steals per game, but they’re 9th in blocks per game.

• Duke is No. 9 out of 358 schools in the KenPom ratings for adjusted efficiency margin. They’re ranked 4th in offensive efficiency and 43rd in defensive efficiency and have nine wins over teams in the KenPom top 50 (Kentucky, Gonzaga, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest (twice), Notre Dame, North Carolina, Miami, Michigan State).

• The Blue Devils are 6-2 in quad-one games with wins over Kentucky, Gonzaga, Virginia Tech, @ Wake Forest, @ Notre Dame, and @ North Carolina. They’re 6-3 in quad-two games and 8-1 in quad-three games. Duke is undefeated (8-0) in quad-four games this season.

Banchero was named First Team All-ACC and the ACC Rookie of the Year for his efforts this season. He leads the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounds, with 17 points and 7.9 boards per game. Banchero shoots 47.8 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from deep. He can really stretch a defense with his outside shooting and is averaging 1.1 threes per game. He moves extremely well for a big man and is a good ball distributor with 3.2 assists per game. Banchero was 8-of-14 with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists against the Spartans, and he scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and four assists against the Titans.

Moore earned Second Team All-ACC honors for his efforts this season. He is listed as a forward but plays more like a guard, leading the Blue Devils with 4.6 assists per game and has a 2.29 assist-to-turnover ratio. Moore is second on the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, and he’s shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three. He leads the team with 1.4 steals per game on the defensive end. Moore scored 15 points against the Spartans and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists in the opening round win over the Titans.

Williams was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s one of the premiere rim defenders in college basketball. He’s 10th in the NCAA with 2.9 blocks per game and will likely matchup against Bryson Williams on the defensive end. Williams is fourth in scoring for Duke at 11.2 ppg, and he’s shooting 71.4 percent from the field. He’s second in rebounding with 7.4 per game. Williams had 15 points with seven boards, five assists and five blocks in the opening round. He followed that up with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in the Round of 32.

The Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament will be the second all-time meeting between Texas Tech and Duke on the hardwood. This matchup is set to feature KenPom’s No. 1 ranked Red Raider defense against the No. 4 ranked Blue Devil offense.

The case can be made that on paper Duke is easily the most talented team Texas Tech has faced this season. Six of the Blue Devils top six scorers were Rivals five-star prospects coming out of high school.

For Duke, the 2022 NCAA Tournament is a farewell tour for Coach K, and the Red Raiders will look to play spoiler and send the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach riding off into the sunset. All eyes will be on the defense for Texas Tech and the offense for Duke, but it’s the Red Raider offense and the Blue Devil defense that are more likely to decide the outcome of this game.

The Blue Devils have struggled of late on the defensive end of the court, and they’re allowing 74.9 points during their seven games in the month of March. The Red Raiders are 17-1 this season when they score 74 points or more, with their only loss coming in the double overtime game against Kansas. Duke will have to play a much-improved defensive basketball game to win on Thursday night.

One area of concern for Texas Tech is that their offense has a tendency to rely on getting their points in the paint when the outside shots aren’t falling. While that’s not a bad thing, the lone strength of the Blue Devil defense just so happens to be in the post, with twin pillars Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero manning the lane and protecting the rim.

Williams was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and Duke is ranked No. 9 in college basketball in blocks per game. If the shots are falling for the Red Raiders, then there’s no need for concern, but if Texas Tech struggles to shoot the ball and points in the paint are tough to come by, then scoring consistently could once again become an issue for the offense.

Banchero is solid on the defensive end but is known more for his offensive abilities. He's as difficult of a matchup as they come for opposing defenses, and you can rest assure that Mark Adams will tailor his defensive gameplan to try and slow him down.

Banchero can stretch the defense with his outside shooting, and he has great handles and can really move for a big man. He can create his own shot with relative ease, and he excels at creating for others with his passing ability.

Duke’s offense scored a combined 72.3 points in their six losses this year, eight points below their season average. Their defense allowed 78.5 points in those six games, 11.3 points above their average. The recipe for knocking off the Blue Devils starts with slowing down their top-ranked offense, but it's also going to take a solid scoring effort by the Red Raider offense as well.