March 25 (UPI) — Duke and Houston capped off the first wave of Sweet 16 games with respective victories over Texas Tech and Houston to advance to the Elite Eight round of the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
No. 4 Arkansas knocked off No. 1 Gonzaga in the first game of Thursday’s slate. No. 2 Villanova followed with a victory over No. 11 Michigan. No. 2 Duke then knocked off No. 3 Texas Tech in the third game of the night. No. 5 Houston edged No. 1 Arizona in the nightcap matchup.
Duke freshman Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 22 points in the Blue Devils’ 78-73 win over the Red Raiders on Thursday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The Blue Devils outshot the Red Raiders 51.9% to 47% in the victory.
“I think all year, in the biggest moments, we all stepped up,” Banchero told reporters. “There is no bigger moment than this. I’ve never played in a basketball game like that.”
The Red Raiders started the game on a 10-2 run. The Blue Devils answered with an 11-3 run to tie the score midway though the first half, but trailed 33-29 at halftime.
The Red Raiders held onto the lead until the Blue Devils used a 9-1 run to take control about 8:23 into the second frame. The teams exchanged the lead several times over the next eight minutes until Banchero hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:57 remaining.
The deep shot sparked a 7-0 run and Duke never trailed again. The Blue Devils outscored the Red Raiders 12-5 over the final three minutes.
Mark Williams and Jeremy Roach chipped in 16 and 15 points, respectively, in the win. Wendell Moore Jr. scored a dozen points for the Blue Devils.
Bryson Williams totaled 21 points and five rebounds for the Red Raiders. Kevin McCullar chipped in 17 points in the loss. Kevin Obanor totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Raiders.
“What a tremendous game,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters. “They are so good and strong. In that first four minutes, we weren’t ready for that level of expertise on defense. After that, I thought we played really well.
“The end of the first half was critical.”
The Blue Devils battle No. 4 Arkansas in the Elite Eight at 8:49 p.m. EDT Saturday on TBS.
No. 5 Houston knocked off top-seeded Arizona in Thursday’s final game. The Cougars outshot the Wildcats 46% to 33.3%. They also made 45% of their 3-point attempts. The Cougars never trailed in the victory.
“I thought we were solid,” Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We weren’t good or really good. … It’s not always smooth sailing. We aren’t going to win a lot of beauty contests, but victories don’t come with asterisks.”
Sophomore guard Jamal Shead scored a game-high 21 points for the Cougars. He also totaled six assists. Senior guard Kyler Edwards chipped in 19 points in the victory.
The Cougars raced out to a 5-0 lead over the first two minutes. They later used a 9-1 run to push their advantage to 14-4. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 34-28 at halftime and started the second half on a 6-3 run, but never got closer than within two points of tying the game down the stretch.
They ended the game on an 8-2 run to seal the victory. Wildcats guards Dalen Terry and Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, in the loss.
The Cougars advanced to face No. 2 Villanova in the Elite Eight at 6:09 p.m. EDT Saturday on TBS.
Another four Sweet 16 games air Friday. No. 15 Saint Peter’s battles No. 3 Purdue at 7:09 p.m. on CBS. No. 4 Providence then faces No. 1 Kansas at 7:29 p.m. on TBS.
No. 8 North Carolina tips off against No. 4 UCLA at 9:39 p.m. on CBS. No. 11 Iowa State faces No. 10 Miami in the final Sweet 16 game at 9:59 p.m. on TBS.
