Duke basketball blows 17-point lead, drops first game to Texas Tech: Takeaways

Duke basketball led by as much as 17 points with 16:31 left in regulation, but the No. 3 Blue Devils couldn’t close, falling 82-81 to a foul-and-injury-riddled No. 19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden in the SentinelOne Classic.

It marks Duke’s (11-1) first loss of the season after an 11-0 start and Texas Tech’s (9-3) first win over a ranked opponent this year. The Blue Devils blew a 17-point lead for the first time since doing so in 2007 against Florida State.

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In total, Duke led for 26:14 and Texas Tech 12:10.

“That’s a very disappointing loss because we were in control the whole game,” coach Jon Scheyer said following the loss. “I always look at myself first and what I can do better, we’ve been playing with fire a little bit. We did not defend in the second half the way we can.”

Duke now has Christmas week off before it opens conference play against Georgia Tech on Dec. 31 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Here are three takeaways from Duke’s loss to Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden:

Duke basketball blows double-digit lead to depth-depleted Texas Tech

Texas Tech jumped out to an early 9-0 lead to open the game, but Duke was able to find its way to take the 46-36 lead going into the break. It was the Red Raiders, though, who outscored Duke 46-35 across the final 20 minutes. They did so with a limited rotation. Already down three players to injury, Leon Horner fouled out with 11:41 remaining, and LeJuan Watts – who finished with 20 points – followed just eight seconds later. JT Toppin played the majority of the game in foul trouble, picking up three in the first half and getting his fourth with 15:09 remaining.

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Toppin proved to be a difference maker, scoring 19 with his layup at the 2:20 mark of the second half tying the game and a jumper some 30 seconds later putting Texas Tech ahead for the first time since the first half.

Christian Anderson had a huge second half for Texas Tech, scoring 23 of his 27 points while going 8-of-10 from the…

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Publish date : 2025-12-21 09:01:00

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