This year, Chase Center is home to the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, the first time a San Francisco-based arena has hosted the tournament's games since 1939. The games start Thursday with Duke versus Texas Tech and Arkansas versus Gonzaga matchups. The state-of-the-art stadium fits this slate of games: from the venue, basketball fans in the Bay, and four highly talented teams going at one another for a spot in the Elite Eight, Thursday night will be a special night.

As Duke and Texas Tech began practices on Wednesday ahead of their matchup, the two squads got a special surprise from Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry. Steph stayed back in the Bay during the Dubs' five-game road trip to rehab his foot injury. Curry greeted them, hopped in for some photos, and gave some words of encouragement for what will be the biggest games of their college careers.

Steph and Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski also shared a moment together. The two greeted each other, with Coach K thanking Curry for stopping by. The two have previous coach/player experience from their time together on Team USA. The two led Team USA to the gold medal in the 2010 Fiba World Championships and 2014 Fiba World Cup. It's a special moment, especially as this link-up between the two is now a part of Coach K's farewell tour as the legendary coach is set to retire at the end of this season.

Duke and Texas Tech will be facing off after the Arkansas/Gonzaga matchup for the second game in the West Region Thursday night at Chase Center. You can watch this highly anticipated matchup live at 6:39 Pacific Time/9:39 Eastern Time on CBS.

(Photo credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)