New York, NY – On Saturday night we had an exciting showdown at the mecca between two top 25 programs in No. 3 Duke and No. 19 Texas Tech and it would live up to the excitement. The first half of this matchup was pretty much dominance from the Blue Devils. Texas Tech started out strong going on a 9-0 run to open up the night, Duke would then go on to outscore them 46-27 from that point on giving them a 46-36 lead at the half. Although Duke had a balanced scoring in the half leading the way was projected top 3 draft pick Cameron Boozer who filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. As for the Red Raiders the frontcourt duo of LeJuan Watts and JT Toppin combined for 24 of 36 of their team’s points.
Coming out of the locker room Texas Tech needed some production out of their backcourt, specifically Christian Anderson who had a quiet first half with 4 points despite being the Red Raiders second leading scorer this season. Anderson would go on to deliver greatly in the second half scoring 23 of his 27 points going 8-of-10 from the field. It proved to be even more important considering Watts fouled out half way through the second half in finishing with 20 points. The Blue Devils started the night hot from beyond the arc going 7-of-14 in the first half but they would go cold in the second.
Cameron Boozer continued to generate many quality looks for his teammates throughout the half but the shots wouldn’t fall as they did earlier in the game. The Red Raiders’ star duo of Toppin and Anderson would continue to take advantage of Duke’s missed opportunities from the perimeter and the charity stripe. That eventually led to a big 82-81 Tech win over Duke, handing the Blue Devils their first loss of the season and snapping their 11 game winning streak.
This matchup gave the fans a show with some excellent individual performances from both teams. From the Blue Devils the obvious standout was Cameron Boozer who showed exactly why he’s in the discussion to be the potential number one pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He finished the night with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists showcasing his talent on one of the biggest stages in college basketball. Boozer displayed high IQ and overall great feel for the game, making some impressive reads out of the post for quality shots for his teammates all night. He was also strong on the glass. His ability to use his strength to get box out position and grab rebounds despite not being an elite vertical athlete is stellar. His scoring came naturally tonight with his soft touch around the rim getting opportunities by sealing his man and scoring out of the post in addition to the offensive glass.
As for the Red Raiders they got great games out of the trio of Christian Anderson, JT Toppin, and LeJuan Watts. Toppin and Watts dominated the game in a similar way by doing their work on the block with their back to the basket and scoring in the paint with tough shot making at the rim all night. Toppin also was a monster on the boards grabbing 10 rebounds against a highly regarded Duke frontcourt. However, despite all these big-time performances the player of this game was hands down Christian Anderson who had 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting with five made 3’s. Anderson’s shot making was nothing short of incredible; he was dynamic being able to score off the dribble out of the pick and roll and getting to pull up jumpers from range. He also showcased an in-between game getting into the teeth of the defense for short range shots and mid-range shots. Anderson’s ability to get clutch time buckets was the main key for the Red Raiders significant win over the Blue Devils.
This article was written by Jordan Amadeo, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.
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