The Blue Devils had the opportunity to use the ACC Tournament as a springboard for higher aspirations, instead NC State used Duke as a springboard for theirs. Duke was outplayed, out hustled and out-willed, losing 74-69 and making their trip to DC just a layover.
There isn’t too much good that comes of bowing out of a tournament as a high seed in your first game. Once again the Blue Devils started slowly and spent the whole game battling with a team that lost double-digit games this season, a team they dispatched by double-digits just ten days prior. A team playing its 3rd game in as many days yet looked like the fresher, quicker team. There really isn’t much of an excuse for that. Generally the numbers tell the tale for the Blue Devils but Duke out-rebounded the Wolfpack, went even on the amount of turnovers but the few statistics that NC State won were big ones. Duke allowed 18 second chance points and offensively the Blue Devils could not hit the broad side of a barn – hitting on just 5-20 from downtown. A lot of Duke’s shots from beyond the arc were completely open shots while defensively they allowed the Wolfpack to shoot 44%. The second chance points came down to the same thing it always seems to come down to with this team. Hustle. NC State had it, Duke didn’t. The fact that when there’s something to play for this team seems to wilt – for the third straight time is very telling and very worrying.
There’s clearly a cloud hanging over this Duke basketball team currently, maybe it’s a lack of confidence or a resignation that everything they thought they were at the beginning of this seasons – they aren’t. Are there some mitigation circumstances? Sure. Down to 3 playable guards with one clearly hobbled and playing through an injury and all of them having to play an inordinate amount of minutes. Duke, historically has been the team, despite having a target on their backs, played hungry, they were hunters. The scary part for Jon Scheyer and his staff is that this team seems to be full and pushing the plate away. Where there is hype around your program your hustle has to exceed it and that has only happened sporadically for Duke and not when it’s mattered.
It’s beginning to look like March might be do Duke’s February – as in the shortest month.
