Texas Tech basketball: Scouting the Duke Blue Devils

Tonight, the Texas Tech basketball program will face Duke in the Sweet 16.  While every Red Raider knows a thing or two about the Blue Devils as a program, this is yet another rare matchup that the NCAA Tournament brings us, similar to the second-round game with Notre Dame.  Thus, most Tech fans probably haven’t paid close attention to what Duke has done this season.

Ranked No. 9 in the final national polls prior to the NCAA Tournament, Coach K and his team are 30-6 on the season.  That mark included a record of 16-4 in ACC play.

But as we discussed prior to the Notre Dame game, the ACC was not as strong in 2021-22 as it historically has been.  Thus, Duke has not faced a ranked team since the last week of November.

Of course, that ranked team, one of only two that Duke has played this season so far, was No. 1 Gonzaga.  What’s more, the Blue Devils were able to knock off the Zags 84-81 in a neutral-site game in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Meanwhile, the other ranked team that the Blue Devils faced this year, Kentucky, is a team we all look at differently now than we did a week ago.  That’s because at this time last week, the Wildcats were a No. 2 seed in the tournament and a trendy pick to win the title.  But one first-round loss to St. Peter’s later and the entire college basketball world views Kentucky as overrated and fraudulent.

Still, Duke does deserve some credit for taking down the Wildcats 79-71 in the season’s opening game.  At that time, the Cats were ranked 10th nationally making that a quality victory.  But in terms of this season, that game was a lifetime ago.

So let’s take a deeper dive into who the Blue Devils are and what challenges they present.  And we will start by looking at an intangible that could decide the outcome of this game.

Duke is uber-talented but extremely young

Of the regular six-man rotation (yes, you read that right, six-man rotation) that Coach K plays, five of those players are either sophomores or freshmen.  What’s more, the only veteran among that group is a junior, Wendell Moore.

Meanwhile, virtually all of Tech’s regular 9-man rotation are upperclassmen.  That group includes five seniors.  That should be an advantage for the Red Raiders.

The problem with Duke though is that their youth is uber-talented.  In fact, their roster is loaded with projected NBA Draft picks.

Looking at this mock draft from nbadraftroom.com, you’ll find Duke’s Paolo Banchero (a super-skilled 6-foot-10 wing who can do it all on the court) going at No. 5 overall.  One pick after that you will find Duke’s AJ Griffin (a true-freshman sharpshooter who averages 10.3 points per game).  At pick No. 20 they have Duke’s 7-foot center Mark Williams heading off the board.

Meanwhile, CBSSports.com ranks the draft prospects for 2022 and they include Duke’s freshman guard Trevor Keels at No. 21 and Moore at No. 31.  In other words, five Blue Devils could potentially go in the first round of this summer’s draft.  Meanwhile, it seems highly unlikely that any Red Raider will be taken in the first round if at all.

But games aren’t won on talent alone.  Rather, intangibles such as experience, grit, and maturity often play a role.  And for the Red Raiders to advance tonight, those factors will need to be in Tech’s favor because on paper, Duke has the more talented team.