Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Duke Blue Devils Match Player Stats On Mar 24, 2022

Duke has reached the midway point of its goal to win the national championship in Mike Krzyzewski's final season as coach.

The Blue Devils are three victories away from allowing Coach K to retire in style after their torrid shooting down the stretch helped deliver a 78-73 victory over third-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday night in the West Region Sweet 16 contest in San Francisco.

Second-seeded Duke (31-6) made its last eight shots and shot a torrid 70.8 percent in the second half while securing a date with fourth-seeded Arkansas (28-8) in Saturday's regional final.

"We want it real bad," Duke guard Jeremy Roach told CBS of the goal of winning the sixth national title during Krzyzewski's 42-season tenure at the school. "He keeps us motivated every day. He pushes us 110 percent every day."

Paolo Banchero sank the go-ahead 3-pointer and scored 22 points to help Duke prevail. Mark Williams added 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots while Roach scored 15 points.

The victory was the 100th in NCAA Tournament competition for Krzyzewski, who was thrilled to win a game that his team trailed for over 26 minutes.

"They are really a good team," Krzyzewski said of Texas Tech before turning the focus to his club. "I'm so happy for these guys. They've grown up so much in the last 10, 12 days."

Bryson Williams scored 21 points and Kevin McCullar added 17 for the Red Raiders (27-10). Adonis Arms recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Kevin Obanor had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Red Raiders made 47 percent of their shots and were 6 of 19 from behind the arc.

"This is a tough time for us as the season ends," Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said in the postgame press conference. "We have a lot of guys tearing up in the locker room, so this is a time we will mourn for a little bit. ...

"I wish I could coach them for another game."

Arms said the program's stellar season was due to Adams, who was promoted to head coach when Chris Beard left for Texas after last season.

"He's the best coach in the country," said Arms, a graduate transfer who played at Winthrop for the 2020-21 season. "He's the reason why a bunch of us transferred here. Unforgettable experience."

Wendell Moore Jr. tallied 12 points and AJ Griffin had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Blue Devils, who shot 51.9 percent and were 7 of 19 from 3-point range.

Banchero drained the 3-pointer to give Duke a 69-68 lead with 2:55 left, and Roach added two jumpers as the Blue Devils held a five-point lead with 1:30 to play.

Texas Tech moved within 73-70 on a dunk by Arms with 27.6 seconds left. Moore made two free throws with 25 seconds remaining for Duke before Arms buried a trey with 13.1 seconds to play as the Red Raiders crept within 75-73.

Griffin made two free throws with 12.9 seconds to go to make it a two-possession game, and the Blue Devils closed it out.

Texas Tech led 46-40 after a basket by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 15:06 remaining.

The Blue Devils responded with a 9-1 burst. Griffin drained a 3-pointer to knot the score at 47 with 13:05 left, and Banchero knocked down a jumper 90 seconds later to give Duke the lead.

The Blue Devils later led 52-51 before McCullar scored five straight points to give Texas Tech a four-point lead with 9:24 left.

Duke answered with a 12-5 run, with Mark Williams capping it with a ferocious dunk to give the Blue Devils a 64-61 lead with 5:37 remaining.

Texas Tech followed with a 7-2 run, taking a 68-66 lead on McCullar's 3-pointer with 3:15 to play.

Obanor had eight points and eight rebounds to help Texas Tech hold a 33-29 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media