Duke fans can exhale a bit as Duke ends its 3 game slide in ACC play with an 88-78 victory on the road at NC State.
It was a tale of two halves for Duke who fell behind the N.C. State Wolfpack by double digits in the first half. Duke could not knock down shots from beyond the arc and conversely NC State was on fire aided by a shaky Duke zone. In the first half State shot better from 3 (66.7%) than from 2 point range. Duke shot a paltry 21.4%.
Duke would turn those numbers around from range in the second half shooting 63.6% to 16.7% for the Wolfpack. The zone Duke played although not effective in the first half but seemed to hit its mark in the second, Duke was able to be much more assertive in the second half as for the first time in a few games Duke was not in second half foul trouble.
Duke took the lead for good at the 10:55 mark in the second half off of a Matt Jones 3 and never looked back. In addition to shooting the ball better Duke was more aggressive offensively and was able to get to the free throw line with greater frequency in the second half going 11-13. Duke was also able to out-rebound NC State by 6 in the second half which doesn’t seem like a lot but for a team with little margin for error it was huge for Duke.
Grayson Allen led Duke with 28 points on 11-17 shooting. Allen proved to be the most aggressive of the Dukies in this game, looking for his shot from all over the floor – from driving to the middle, hitting the 3 off of a pick, and using his mid-range jump-shot when the lane was not available. Allen also added 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Brandon Ingram also had a big game for the Devils who are coming off of their first 3 game losing streak since the 2007 season. Ingram scored 25 on 10-16 shooting and 4-6 from beyond the arc. Ingram also matched Grayson Allen’s rebounding total pulling down 7 boards as well.
[x_video_embed type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed]Pluses:
-Duke tightened up the zone defense in the second half and held NC State to 47% shooting and 16.7% from 3 point range.
-Duke won the rebounding battle 31-28
-Duke was below their turnover average, only turning the ball over 9 times.
-Staying out of foul trouble
Minuses:
-Ineffective first half zone
-First half shooting 21.4% from 3 point range
-Stayed the course.
