The NC State men’s basketball was knocked out of the ACC Tournament Thursday after suffering a devastating 77-53 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Duke in the quarterfinal round.
Despite the loss, the Wolfpack (20-13, 10-8 ACC) have a very good chance at earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Mark Gottfried said with its resume, his team was deserving of a spot in the Big Dance.
“I’m not on the committee, but I think we’ve certainly earned the right to be in the Tournament,” Gottfried said. “We’ve proven that we’re one of the teams in the at-large pool that needs to play. We’ve done enough.”
The Blue Devils (29-3, 13-3 ACC), a team that is all but a lock for a 1-seed, played like the superior team Thursday, despite falling 87-75 to the Pack in the teams’ last meeting.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team’s objective was an ACC title, not to seek revenge for one of his club’s rare defeats.
“Primarily, we need to get off to a good start in this tournament,” Krzyzewski said. “This tournament means a lot to us. I’m surprised we won the way we did because I think State can beat anybody.”
The Devils set the pace of play out of the gate with stellar defensive play, all but completely shutting down the State attack.
A stiff full-court press leading to a polished zone defense limited the Pack’s options offensively. At times, the State guards looked lost while trying to find a gap to exploit, and possessions ended mostly with rushed shots or turnovers.
“They played a match-up zone and really put a lot of attention on not letting [our backcourt] have a lot of room to operate,” Gottfried said. “We didn’t move ball well. We didn’t move our bodies well. We just kept trying to create some things off the dribble with very little ball movement, and that really hurt us.”
After controlling the interior against Pittsburgh one night before, the Pack’s post game was stifled by freshman ACC Player of the Year Jahlil Okafor and a career performance from reserve Marshall Plumlee. State converted on just 11 of its 25 attempts in the painted area, losing the battle on the block 46-22.
Sophomore forward BeeJay Anya said his team showed a lack of effort in the interior.
“They fought harder than we did from the jump,” Anya said. “We didn’t come out with the same energy we had yesterday [against Pitt], and we didn’t play to our ability today.”
Offensively, the Blue Devils were relentless, putting up 49 points in the opening half. Six Duke players reached double figures, including 12 and 11 from bench players Plumlee and Grayson Allen, respectively.
The only baskets State seemed to find were in transition. Though he failed to put the ball in the basket, sophomore guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber was key in breaking the Duke press, recording four assists.
However, midway through the second half, Barber was blindsided on a screen and taken to the locker room after slowly making his way off the court. After the game, Gottfried said he was unsure on Barber’s status.
“I don’t think anything has been determined yet,” Gottfried said. “Obviously, the number one priority is to make sure he’s okay.”
With or without its point guard, the Pack will await its fate on Selection Sunday. Although Thursday’s blowout may be fresh on the minds of State fans for a while, redshirt senior guard Ralston Turner said he and his teammates have developed short memories.
”We’ve been in this situation before,” Turner said. “I’d like to say that we’ve learned our lesson and learned how to let things go.”
Regardless, the experience gained from the team’s trip to the Big Dance last season will prove to be invaluable, as the jitters and novelty of a game on college basketball’s biggest stage will not hinder the team’s performance.
Projected as a 10-or 11-seed, a first-round upset is not out of the question for NC State. When playing well, the Wolfpack can beat anyone, but when playing poorly, the team can just as easily lose to anyone.
