After narrowly defeating Pittsburgh, the NC State men’s basketball team finds itself still squarely on the bubble with two ACC games remaining. For its next matchup, the Wolfpack (18-11, 9-9 ACC) will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium March 2 to take on No. 7 Duke.
On Feb. 19, when Duke came to PNC Arena, the Wolfpack manhandled the Blue Devils (23-6, 13-5 ACC) 88-66 to pick up a big resume-building win for its NCAA Tournament hopes. Senior guard Markell Johnson wreaked havoc on the Duke defense, scoring 28 points and grabbing nine rebounds. In order for the Pack to pick up a win at one of the toughest places to play in the country, it will need senior guard Markell Johnson to play at the elite level he did last time around.
Duke is reeling after losing three of its last four games. With all three losses coming on the road, the Blue Devils will be happy to be back at home. In its last two games, Duke fell in 2OT against Wake Forest and was narrowly defeated on the road by Virginia. With the Blue Devils struggling down the stretch, NC State could find itself with a chance to pull off another historic upset. However, Duke is 13-2 this season at home, with its only losses coming to Stephen F. Austin and Louisville.
Duke has a high-scoring offense, averaging 82.1 points per game compared to NC State’s 74.6. However, the Wolfpack defense held the Blue Devils to a low total of 66 points. This is the third-lowest point total for Duke all year, with Boston College and Virginia being the only other teams who have held Duke to a lower number.
One of, if not the only, bright spot for Duke in the previous matchup against NC State was the play of freshman forward Vernon Carey Jr., Duke’s leading scorer, at 17.6 points per game, Carey made his presence known down low with a double-double, scoring 27 points and bringing down 12 rebounds. Carey will be the focal point of the Duke offense again, with redshirt freshman forward Manny Bates and redshirt junior forward D.J. Funderburk being his primary defenders.
It will be imperative for either Bates or Funderburk to play well on both sides of the ball. An inside presence offensively will take some pressure off Johnson and redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels. A strong defensive presence will be able to contest shots at the rim and contain Carey. If both players get in foul trouble, graduate forward Danny Dixon will get some minutes for the Pack. With the dominance of Carey and Dixon’s inexperience in ACC play, this is a scenario Wolfpack fans do not want to see.
Bates is coming off the best game of his career against Pittsburgh, where he recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Funderburk has been one of NC State’s most consistent players all year, averaging 12.7 points and six rebounds a game.
Point guard Tre Jones is another player the Wolfpack defense will need to key in on Monday night, as he averages 16.1 points per game and 6.3 assists. Jones has made big plays in the clutch this season, including a shot at the buzzer to send Duke’s game against North Carolina to overtime. He scored 17 points against NC State in the last matchup; however, he went only 6 of 18 from the field.
Duke shoots 34.5% from the 3-point line and is led by forward Matthew Hurt, who has made 42 shots behind the arc. Duke has a tendency to get hot from the 3-point line at home. Defending the perimeter is a must if NC State wants to have any chance at sweeping the season series. The Wolfpack did a great job of this last time against Duke, as the Blue Devils were only 4 of 17 from the 3-point line.
Daniels struggled in NC State’s last game against Pittsburgh, only scoring four points. However, Daniels eased through the Duke defense, scoring 25 points in the home upset. When the Michigan native gets going, there is almost no stopping him going to the basket, and he will look to be a big offensive key for NC State this time around.
It is worth mentioning that NC State head coach Kevin Keatts is 2-1 in the rivalry so far against Duke. With both of those wins coming at home, Keatts will look to solve the difficult puzzle of winning in Durham.
The tobacco road matchup is scheduled to tip off from Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN, and live updates will be provided on twitter via @TechSports.
