Duke wins tough one vs. Syracuse
OMAHA, Neb. — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was right.
Syracuse had gotten better offensively since the last time the Blue Devils and the Orange played on Feb. 24, a 60-44 win for Duke in Durham.
On this night, though, Duke and Syracuse were locked for the entire game. But Duke answered Syracuse’s comeback attempt with some clutch buckets and free throws.
It almost didn’t happen that way. Senior guard Grayson Allen missed his second of two free-throw attempts with about 11 seconds left in the game. Syracuse was down by 3 points and had a chance to tie it. But Allen made the smart play by fouling Syracuse’s leading scorer, Tyus Battle, before he could get a chance to put up a 3-point shot. He missed the second of two free throws.
Freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. hit two free throws on the next possession to put the game out of reach, and the Blue Devils beat the Orange, 69-65, in the Sweet 16 at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.
No. 2-seeded Duke (29-7) advances to its first Elite 8 since 2015, when it won a national championship. Its opponent will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, Kansas (30-7), which beat Clemson earlier Friday, 80-76.
While it wasn’t quite like the first matchup in Durham, the game was slow-paced and easy shots were hard to come by.
Duke had a tough time shooting the 3-ball. In the first game the Blue Devils shot 2 for 18. In this game, Duke shot 5 for 26 from behind the 3-point line.
Texas Tech pulls away from Purdue
BOSTON — Having advanced further than any Texas Tech team ever has, the Red Raiders are one win away from returning to Texas for the Final Four.
Getting a big lift from its bench and its defense, Tech advanced to Sunday’s East Region title game with a 7865 win over second-seeded Purdue. As he has throughout the tournament and for so much of the season, senior point guard Keenan Evans took over when it mattered. He had just six points 1-of-6 shooting when he nailed a 15-footer to put Tech up 56-51 with seven minutes to play. From that point, he delivered 10 points down the stretch to cement the victory.
With the win the Big 12 now has three teams playing this weekend with a chance to go to the Final Four, with Kansas and Kansas State joining Tech.
Tech (27-9) advances to face East top seed Villanova (33-4), which eliminated West Virginia, 90-78, in the first game Friday at TD Garden. The Wildcats lead Division I in scoring at 87 points a game. The winner advances to the Final Four in San Antonio.