Duke Takes On Texas Tech In The Ameritas Insurance Classic At Madison Square Garden
As Duke does every year they will take on an opponent inside Madison Square Garden that is home of the New York Knicks of the NBA.
This year second ranked Duke who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference will take on twelfth ranked Texas Tech on Thursday night who is a member of the Big Twelve in the Ameritas Insurance Classic to closeout the non -conference portion of their schedule.
Duke comes into the game with a record of 10-1 while Texas Tech comes into the game with a record of 10-0.
As for Duke’s previous game, Like Texas Tech they won their previous game as they defeated Princeton.
- RJ Barrett continued his rookie-season scoring rush, finishing with 27 points to help second-ranked Duke beat Princeton 101-50 on Tuesday night. “according to www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211784172&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Fellow freshman Zion Williamson had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Blue Devils' first game in more than a week due to an exam break. Duke (10-1) got off to a cold start and didn't take its first lead until more than 14 minutes in, but eventually got rolling and handed the Tigers their most lopsided loss in program history. “according to www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211784172&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke scored on 10 of 11 possessions to close the first half, then on four straight out of the break to take a 48-28 lead. The Blue Devils shot 64 percent after halftime as the game turned into a rout. “according to www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211784172&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Myles Stephens had 19 points for Princeton (5-5), which scored the game's first eight points and led 18-16 before Duke put together an 11-0 run to take over. “according to www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211784172&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Like Duke, Texas Tech also won their previous game as they defeated Abilene Christian, Jarrett Culver scored a career-high 30 points after going 12-for-13 from the field to lead No. 11-ranked Texas Tech to an 82-48 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday in the final game ever at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.
The Red Raiders (10-0) are now unbeaten through 10 games to start a season for the second time in program history behind only a 12-0 start to the 1929-30 campaign and also extend their non-conference home winning streak to 45 games. TTU shot 55.6 percent from the field in the game and limited ACU (9-2) to 28.3 percent shooting after the Wildcats came into the game shooting 49.3 percent through their first 10 games. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
A Lubbock native playing in front of a sold-out Coliseum, Culver would add seven rebounds and four assists to his career-high 30 points. He had a previous career high of 26 earlier this season against Nebraska and last season as a freshman at West Virginia before going off for 30 against the Wildcats where he was 2-for-3 on 3-pointers. Culver is now averaging 19.1 points per game this season and has scored in double-digits in all 10 and led the team in scoring in nine. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
"My teammates got me open a lot, set some good screens, had good passing and there was great space on the floor tonight so I got going early and didn't look back," Culver said. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
Texas Tech had double-digit scorers for the second straight game with 10 players scoring at least a point in the 34-point win. Matt Mooney went for 14 points on a 6-for-10 shooting performance along with adding three steals and freshman Kyler Edwards had 10 points and five rebounds. Deshawn Corprew matched a career-high with eight rebounds and also had four points and two assists off the bench, while Tariq Owens added seven points and five rebounds and Davide Moretti contributed seven points and two assists. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
Texas Tech took a 41-26 into halftime with Culver leading the way with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, while Mooney had eight. Culver's 20-point halftime was the first of his career and also included him going 4-for-5 from the free-throw line in the opening half. The Red Raiders were 14-for-27 from the field in the first half and limited the Wildcats to 37 percent. The Wildcats were 4-for-13 on 3-pointers at halftime. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
"I just told the guys without watching the film I feel played a solid 33 to 34 minutes," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "We had a couple of stretches in the second half that just got away from us. When you get that lead there is a fine line that you want to play with some patience, but you also want to keep attacking. I give ACU a lot of credit. They are a great reflection of how coach Joe Golding was as a player and as a coach. He is a competitive guy. It was one of our better games. In order to win in the Big 12 we need to play the full 40 minutes." “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
The Red Raiders led by as many as 39 points in the game and has now won five games by 30 or more and all 10 of their games by double digits. Culver's performance was the first time a Red Raider has scored 30 points this season and the first since Keenan Evans went for 38 last season at Texas. He is the 45th player in program history to reach 30 points, with Dub Malaise topping the program with 13 games with 30 or more points and Will Flemons maintained the all-time Lubbock Municipal Coliseum record with 47 against Oral Roberts in 1993. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
Texas Tech has now shot over 50 percent in four games and limited an opponent to under 30 percent in four this season. The Red Raiders continue to lead the nation by holding the opposition to 32.2 percent shooting and is now at 49.9 percent offensively. The team has held opponents to under 50 points in five games and three straight after holding ACU to 48, a season-low for them that was previously at 60. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
Jalone Friday led the Wildcats with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jaren Lewis had nine and Jaylen Franklin and Trey Lenox added eight each. The Wildcats had only eight turnovers in the game, but were unable to stay with the Red Raiders after going 5-for-21 on 3-pointers and 15-for-53 from the field. ACU will return to action on Friday when it plays at Southeastern Missouri State. “according to https://texastech.com/news/2018/12/15/mens-basketball-recap-no-11-red-raiders-82-acu-48.aspx
Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised on ESPN2.