Duke basketball: Keys to victory in Sweet 16 against Texas Tech

The Duke basketball team battles Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 

After a quick turnaround to San Francisco, the Duke basketball team is ready to take the court once again in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils will face Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 as the winner will face either Gonzaga or Arkansas in the Elite Eight on Saturday night.

Both Duke and Texas Tech fell in their conference tournament championship games as the Red Raiders were dropped by the Kansas Jayhawks and the Blue Devils lost to the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Neither team has played each other since the 2018-19 season, in which Duke took down Texas Tech in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd behind Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett.

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The Red Raiders were led by head coach Chris Beard in that game but are now led by Mark Adams, a former assistant on Beard’s staff in Lubbock, as the head coach left to become the head coach of the Texas Longhorns.

Adams, the 65-year-old head coach, is in his first season as the leader of the Red Raiders and coaching in his first NCAA Tournament.

In comparison, Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils head coach, is coaching in his final season at Duke at 75 years old and will be looking for his sixth National Championship during his 42 years at the helm of the program.

Duke basketball looking to ride momentum into second weekend

The Duke season hung in the balance against Michigan State in the final four minutes of the game, but the Blue Devil youngsters hung tough as Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach hit the biggest 3-pointers of their career.

The shots, and the victory, should catapult the Blue Devils with momentum into the Sweet 16, although their opponent will be one of the best they have faced this season.

Tipoff is scheduled for 9:39 p.m. EST on CBS from the Chase Center in San Francisco.