Two of the nation’s top ranked programs will meet on the hardwood on Thursday night in the Big Apple as the No.11 Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the No.2 Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden.
The Red Raiders have yet to take a loss on the season although their toughest competition to date was Nebraska. Duke provides a much bigger challenge before Texas Tech kicks off its Big-12 conference matchups. Can the Raiders remain undefeated or will Duke get the better of Texas Tech? After all, the Blue Devils have just a single loss of their own against a stacked—and more veteran—Gonzaga team.
Who can win the Ameritas Insurance Classic as the ACC and Big 12 classic with a pair of powerhouse teams set for a battle behind head coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Chris Beard.
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Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Duke Blue Devils
Date and Time: Thursday, December 20, 2018, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Red Raiders vs. Blue Devils TV Coverage: ESPN2
The Blue Devils have hosted their last five games. The last time this team took the court away from Durham resulted in a disappointing 87-89 loss to Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs had the personnel to counter the loaded Duke frontcourt. Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett still managed to eclipse 20 points each, but Cam Reddish ended the day with just 10 and the trio shot a combined 20-for-51 from the floor, far from their typical model of efficiency shooting. While Tre Jones was solid outside and shot 50-percent from the floor, he took only two shots outside. Gonzaga doubled up Duke outside.
Since that loss, however, Duke has won four in a row heading into the start of the week—all at home. They’ve not only won, but they’ve done so in commanding fashion over Indiana, Stetson, Hartford and Yale.
The team is quite young, but they’ve been getting better and better as they’ve adjusted to the college game and to playing together as a team.
Coach K typically rolls with a four forward starting five, leaving Tre Jones as the lone guard though Barrett and Williamson are solid shooters outside, too. Jones, meanwhile, can shoot, but is primarily an assists machine, setting up his teammates and playing solid defense on the outside.
Overall, Barrett leads the team in scoring with 24.2 PPG and has provided more than just scoring with 7.2 RPG and 4.2 APG. As far as the scoring goes, however, he seems to get better and better. Williamson is averaging north of 20, too, with 20.4 PPG and is the leader on the boards with 9.0 per contest. He’s also a solid blocker inside helping to shut down the opposing front court under the basket.
Sprinkle in some Jack White and this starting five is as dynamic as they came. Of course, Duke also has quality depth to protect their starting five and keep them rested throughout the game. Marques Bolden brings size and defense off the bench while Alex O’Connell and Javin DeLaurier are solid role players.
On the other side of the court in this one, the Red Raiders head into the game undefeated. Their schedule to this point, however, hasn’t been all that challenging with Memphis, Nebraska and USC the biggest name competitors to this point.
What’s most impressive so far for Texas Tech has been its defense. The team isn’t nearly averaging as many points as Duke, but it’s held the opposition to fewer than 50-points in three straight games and hasn’t allowed more than 67 all year. Against a high-powered Duke team that’s likely to change, but the defense should still play.
Jarrett Culver is the star for the Red Raiders. He’s coming off a 30-point game and has 19.1 PPG while shooting 58.1-percent form the floor and over 45-percent from three-point range.
The Red Raiders are an efficient shooting team and dominate on the outside. Look for Texas Tech to take more than twice as many shots outside than Duke with Culver and fellow guard Matt Mooney leading the way in scoring. The latter has 11 PPG.
Those two guards are also solid rebounders. In fact Culver leads the team in that category. The Red Raiders aren’t built to hang with Duke inside, but they’ve got the edge in the backcourt.
While the team goes with a much smaller starting lineup, senior Tariq Owens is a good presence under the basket, particularly defensively. He’s got 2.7 BPG and is a solid rebounder to boot.
Live Betting
Statistically, the Blue Devils have an across the board advantage against the Red Raiders except, of course, in terms of points allowed per game and wins as Texas Tech comes into play undefeated in 10 straight.
Still, Duke has scored more than 15 more PPG than the Red Raiders and also boast superior numbers in rebounds, assists, blocks and even steals. Interestingly, however, these two teams have nearly identical shooting percentages from the floor. Duke’s just taken many more shots per game, driving up their score.
The Red Raiders will do their best to slow the pace of play in this one. If Barrett, Williamson and company start running wild and moving the ball up court too quickly they could run away with this one, but if Texas Tech is able to slow the pace enough, their sharp shooters like Culver can take over in the backcourt.
Watch the pace of the game early and use that to play on live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
This game pins two very different, but successful, teams head-to-head: one that thrives on its guards and defense, the other a high powered team that lives off fast breaks and a strong collection of forwards.
Tre Jones will be big for the Blue Devils if they’re going to help slow the likes of Culver and Mooney outside, but the biggest key to this game is in a Texas Tech uniform.
Tariq Owens is a veteran of college hoops, but in his first year with the Red Raiders. A two-time transfer, the senior forward is getting a chance to shine this year and is crucial under the basket against the trio of Barrett, Williamson and Reddish.
Owens can score some points inside, but he doesn’t take too many shots as the team prefers to keep the ball outside on offense, but his defense will be instrumental. He’ll need to record a few key blocks and nab as many defensive rebounds as possible to keep Texas Tech in this against the No.2 team in the nation.
Red Raiders vs. Blue Devils Live Betting
Count on Barrett, Williamson and Reddish to overwhelm the Texas Tech front court and own the paint in this one while Tre Jones does a solid job on the outside. The Red Raiders defense will allow them to keep the game close and Owens will be a huge part of that, but Duke can score too many ways with Barrett and Williamson getting shots outside, too, to open up the lanes.
Look for Texas Tech to suppress what is typically a dynamic offense for Duke, but the Blue Devils will score more against the Red Raiders than anyone to this point in the season and the deep Duke team roster will prevail in the end. This team is getting better and better and has some insane talent. Texas Tech is a good team, but they’re in for their first loss against a truly elite college basketball team.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Duke 77, Texas Tech 73
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