If the No. 2 Hoyas defeat No. 15 Belmont today, they will move on to face whoever emerges victorious from the first-round battle between Boston College and Texas Tech.
The No. 10 Red Raiders and the No. 7 Eagles have faced off only once before in NCAA tournament history: In 1985, BC defeated Texas Tech by a slim margin, 55-53, but ultimately lost to Memphis State in the regional semifinal.
This season, BC (20-11, 10-6 ACC) lost five of its last seven games, including a 71-56 loss in the ACC semifinal game against North Carolina. At a press conference after the loss, Head Coach Al Skinner said, “The ACC is the best conference in the country. . Once we get out of this freaking ACC, we’re going to do OK.”
But BC nonetheless boasts senior forward Jared Dudley, the player of the year in the nation’s most difficult conference. The 6-foot-7 San Diego native was a unanimous first-team all-ACC selection, averaging 19 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in conference play. He led the conference in minutes played per game with 38.8, and was second in field goal percentage and defensive rebounds.
Despite the Eagles’ defensive failures this season, Dudley’s numbers, totaling 533 points and 233 rebounds, helped BC average 74.6 points per game. The Eagles played without Dudley in three non-conference games while he was sidelined by a severe ankle sprain. The Eagles lost to Duquesne, and then went on to beat Northeastern and Yale. None of those teams earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. Dudley’s dominance was all the more important in carrying BC to the end of the season and an NCAA berth after defensive star Sean Williams was dismissed from the team mid-season.
Texas may be a football state, but the Red Raiders (21-12, 9-7 Big 12) have a basketball legend prowling their sidelines in Hall of Fame Head Coach Bob Knight. Knight’s career has been full of miracles, and a 3-0 run against the Big 12’s top two teams – Kansas and Texas A & M – was enough to earn Texas Tech a tournament berth, even after an up-and-down season culminating in a quarterfinal loss to Kansas State in the conference tournament.
In his 41st year of coaching, Knight has won three national titles, including one with an Indiana team that went 32-0 in 1976. No men’s team has been perfect since. Knight brings his well known philosophy and coaching technique to Texas Tech: He is still fiery, and runs the motion offense and tight man-to-man defense that brought his Hoosier teams success. During his five seasons at the helm of Texas Tech’s program, the Red Raiders have taken three trips to the NCAA tournament, after having gone only twice in its previous 15 years. On New Year’s Day this year, Knight became the winningest coach in Division I history by surpassing Dean Smith’s record of 879 career victories. At season’s end, his win total stands at 888.
Behind the talent of leading scorer Jarrius Jackson – who tallied 26 or more points on four occasions this season – and Knight’s coaching experience, Texas Tech may be the lower seed, but not necessarily the underdog.
The two squads face off Thursday at 12:15 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
