SAN FRANCISCO— Kevin Obanor continued his stellar March in the postseason.
The 6-foot-8 forward established himself in the paint, while also figuring out ways to put the ball in the basket for No. 12 Texas Tech in its Sweet 16 game Thursday against No. 9 Duke.
Obanor, who had recorded five straight double-doubles in as manyNCAA Tournament contests, kept that going with his sixth,Bryson Williams scored 15 of hits total 21 points in points, while Kevin McCullar and Adonis Arms chipped in 17 and 10 points, respectively.
But it wasn't enough.
Arms drilled a 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play, but he missed another to make it a one-point game nine seconds later, as the No. 3 seeded Red Raiders dropped a 78-73decision tothe No. 2 seed Blue Devils inside a sold-out Chase Center.
Duke, which made 71% of its shots from the field in the second half, did not miss a basket in the final 8:22 of the contest.
"I love these guys," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said."So blessed to have the opportunity to coach them, and I wish I could coach them another game, but I just can't express how much I appreciate the work habits and how coachable these guys are, how much they love each other, the family atmosphere that we had.
"It was just so enjoyable for me, and this will be a team that I'll always remember. They had a great year. We broke a lot of records, and some of these guys who are up here with me are largely responsible for that. Anyway, we'll get through tonight."
Red Raider nation reaction:'I'll take that first half': Texas Tech fans react to Sweet 16 loss vs. Duke
With the loss, Texas Tech (27-10) ended its first season under Mark Adams in the Round of 16 while Duke (31-6)advanced to the Elite Eight and ensured their legendary head coach has one more game to coach.
"What a game. What a tremendous game," said Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who secured his 100th NCAA Tournament win and previously announced he will retire at the end of the team's season. "They're so good and strong. Obviously, in the first four minutes, we weren't ready for that level of expertise on defense and their strength, but then after that, I thought we played really well.
"The end of half was critical. We had a seven-point lead, and we were able to score and then not let them score. All of a sudden you're looking at a four-point, and we had the ball. Then it went back and forth, and one team scored and the other team. I thought when we went zone that helped us. ... Boy, my guys are really doing a great job. They're really doing a great job, and we beat guys who were doing a great job on the other team."
For a majority of the contest, the Red Raiders were in control.
Texas Tech held the lead for more than 26 minutes compared to Duke, whichwas in front for8:31. The Blue Devilstook the advantage late and never relinquished it thanks to a stellar offensive performance in the second half.
And, a game-changing defensive adjustment.
In the scouting report of Texas Tech, Krzyzewski said they had a "No. 12 defense, if necessary." That meant switching to a zone defense.
“And it was necessary,” Krzyzewski said.
At first, Texas Tech did not recognize it and struggled to find the open spots as was a pain point earlier in the year when teams such as Kansas and Baylor utilized the defense to put the Red Raiders off-kilter.
It led to a two-minute scoring drought and allowed Duke a chance to get back into what was a two-possession contest for most of the second half.
“The zone gave us a chance to kind of dance around the ring a little bit,” Krzyzewski said, “instead of being in a corner.”
After the score was tied six times, the Blue Devils took the lead following a Paolo Banchero trey to go up 69-68 and never let it go despite the Red Raiders closing to within one possession in the final two minutes— including a triple by Arms with 13 seconds to play.
Banchero, who's expected to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, finished with a game-best 22 points followed by Williams (16 points, eight rebounds), Jeremy Roach (15 points), Wendell Moore Jr. (12 points), AJ Griffin (11 points).
The 71% Duke shot in the second stanza is the highest any team has shot in a half of basketball against Texas Tech over the last seven seasons, according to TNT research.
“I think there’s a Bible verse that says you mourn with those who mourn and celebrate those who celebrate,” Adams said, referring to Romans 12:15 — 'Rejoice with those who rejoice; Mourn with those who mourn.'“And we’re going to have a lot of time to celebrate. This has been an unbelievable year, but I have a lot of guys tearing up in that locker room. So this is a time that we’ll mourn a little bit.”
The first half was just as close after a quick offensive run by Texas Tech.
The first five minutes could not have gone better for the Red Raiders, who used their suffocating defense to create turnovers and flip them into quick points.
After a pair of Williams buckets, Kevin McCullar finished up a fastbreak layup before Adonis Arms and Terrence Shannon, Jr. capped off a 10-2 offensive surge with rim-rattling dunks to charge up the neutral-site crowd.
Krzyzewski was forced to call timeout, but rallied his players as Duke countered with a 10-2 run of its own— with Paolo Banchero capping it off with a three-point play to knot things up at 12-12 with 13:15 left in the first stanza.
Following a made shot by Jeremy Roach, to put Duke up 24-22, before the Red Raiders engineered a 7-0 run to retake the lead and relinquished it the rest of the way.
Williams split a pair of free throws before AJ Griffin nailed a 3-pointer and Banchero hit a jumper to close the gap to two possessions (33-29) as both teams headed into halftime.
It marked the third time this season Duke was held to under 30 points in the first half.
The Blue Devils found their offensive rhythm thanks to some 3-point shooting from Griffin and others as the Red Raiders were more than willing to trade shots in what turned out to be an entertaining second half that included Duke making its last eight shots toward a 71% mark from the field and 50% from the three-point line.
"I wouldn't say it's a new clutch gene at all," Banchero said. "I would say all year in the biggest moments we've always stepped up, and there's no bigger moment than this. I don't know about these guys, but I've never played in a basketball game like that."
Krzyzewski patted Banchero on the back, making him pause for a moment.
“You were terrific,” the Duke coachtold his star player.
Banchero continued: "When you are out there, you don't even — it's not like you're even thinking. You're just playing to win, and you're playing extremely hard. So when you are doing that and you are not afraid of the moment as a team, you're going to do stuff like that."
What's next?
Duke faces off against No. 4 seeded Arkansasin the Elite Eight set for 7:40 p.m. Saturday.
NO. 9 DUKE 78, NO. 12 TEXAS TECH 73
TEXAS TECH (27-10)
Obanor 4-10 0-0 10, B.Williams 8-16 3-4 21, Arms 6-12 0-0 13, McCullar 7-13 2-3 17, Shannon 4-9 0-0 8, Warren 0-2 0-0 0, Santos-Silva 2-4 0-0 4, Nadolny 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 5-9 73.
DUKE (31-6)
Banchero 7-12 5-6 22, Griffin 3-9 2-2 11, Moore 4-7 3-3 12, M.Williams 6-9 4-4 16, Roach 7-11 1-2 15, Keels 0-3 0-0 0, John 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 15-17 78.
Halftime_Texas Tech 33-29. 3-Point Goals_Texas Tech 6-19 (B.Williams 2-3, Obanor 2-4, McCullar 1-4, Arms 1-6, Shannon 0-1, Warren 0-1), Duke 7-19 (Banchero 3-4, Griffin 3-7, Moore 1-3, Roach 0-1, Jones 0-2, Keels 0-2). Rebounds_Texas Tech 29 (Obanor 10), Duke 28 (M.Williams 8). Assists_Texas Tech 12 (Arms 7), Duke 12 (Roach 5). Total Fouls_Texas Tech 14, Duke 12. A_17,514 (18,064).
