Sweet 16: Duke vs Texas Tech 3/24/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Duke Blue Devils and Texas Tech Red Raiders clash Thursday night in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 college basketball action from Chase Center. Texas Tech is 27-9 overall this year. The Raiders beat Notre Dame in national tournament activity on Sunday. As for Duke, they’re currently 30-6 and coming off a win over Michigan State in their Second Round matchup. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Texas Tech has been a consistent team this season. The Red Raiders were 23-8 heading into the Big 12 tournament but ultimately fell to Kansas back on March 12. Since then Texas Tech has gotten back to business with national tournament wins over Montana State and Notre Dame.

In the Sunday Second Round game versus Notre Dame, the Red Raiders were up by just one point at halftime. Texas Tech posted a 33-28 run in the second half on the way to a 59-53 win. Tops in scoring was Kevin Obanor with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Kevin McCullar and Bryson Williams each scored 14 points as well.

Over on the Duke side, they’ve maintained a steady strength for the entire year. The Blue Devils didn’t lose consecutive games the whole way, but fell in a tough conference tournament matchup to Virginia Tech on March 12. Duke has since taken out CSU Fullerton and Michigan State in the proverbial Big Dance. 

Matched up against Michigan State in the Second Round of the national tournament Sunday, the Blue Devils had a 39-35 lead by the break. Duke kept it up with a 46-41 second half in an 85-76 win. Leading scorer Paolo Banchero posted 19 points with seven rebounds and four assists in the victory. 

PICK: I’m probably going to take a stab on Duke here. The Blue Devils have maintained an elite pace for most of the season, and even in their losses they generally score pretty well. Duke posted their second-lowest total of the season in the Virginia Tech loss with 67 points (they scored 66 in a loss to Ohio State early in the year) but since then the team has bounced back. I like the Blue Devils to continue gaining momentum in this one. 

As for Texas Tech, they shot just 35.6 percent from the floor in a scrappy game versus Notre Dame on Sunday. The Raiders powered through for the win with a 42-36 rebounding advantage and just eight turnovers. I like Texas Tech to give Duke a good game here, but I don’t think they’ll keep the cover/win pace in the end.