#1 Duke Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC) vs NC State Wolfpack (19-10, 10-6 ACC)

#1 Duke Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC) vs NC State Wolfpack (19-10, 10-6 ACC)

Monday, March 2 • 7:00 p.m. ET

Lenovo Center (19,367) • Raleigh, N.C.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The Blue Devils hit the road for a matchup with Will Wade’s 19-10 North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Lenovo Center.

TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Cory Alexander
Reporter Molly McGrath
Producer Kim Belton
Director Michael Griffin

Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 81 & SiriusXM app

In Will Wade’s first year, he has the Wolfpack on the verge of a 20-win season. The Pack sit currently at 19-10 on the season and 10-6 in conference. In its last five games, NC State defeated North Carolina in Raleigh and suffered a one-point loss at home to Miami and road losses at Louisville, Virginia, and Notre Dame (OT). The Wolfpack lead the ACC and rank ninth nationally in turnover margin (+4.0). NC State is 13th nationally with an ACC-best 3-point shooting percentage of 38.6%. The Wolfpack top the conference with 8.4 steals per outing.

The Wolfpack boast 4 double-figure scorers led by ACC Preseason Player of the Year senior Darrion Williams at 14.2 points per game. Williams also averages 4.9 rebounds. Sharpshooter Paul McNeil is just behind Williams at 13.8 points per game; he leads the ACC in 3-point accuracy at 42.6% from beyond the arc. Guard Quadir Copeland averages 13.6 points per game; he shoots the 3 at a 41.5% clip. Copeland tops the ACC and ranks 11th in the nation with 198 assists (6.8 apg) and is third in the ACC in steals (53). Ven-Allen Lubin rounds out the double-figure scoring for NC State at 13.5 points per game. He’s the leading rebounder for Will Wade’s team at 7 per game and leads the conference in field goal percentage at 67.6%.

Last Time Out:

The NC State men’s basketball team (19-10, 10-6 ACC) fell in overtime to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon inside Purcell Pavilion. NC State never trailed in regulation and had multiple nine-point leads in the game, including a 79-70 advantage with 4:46 left in regulation, but Notre Dame ended the second period on an 11-2 run to force overtime. In overtime, Notre Dame took its first lead of the game on a Cole Certa three-pointer a little over a minute into overtime. NC State tied the game back up on its next possession on a Paul McNeil, Jr., three-pointer, but Certa made another three on ND’s next possession, and the Pack was never able to catch the Irish again.

Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 11 Quad-1 wins (Feb. 25). They’ve secured nine top-25 victories with wins over No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU, and No. 25 Kansas. The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation. (KenPom) Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.6, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.1, 1st) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (62.9 ppg). They lead the ACC and are fifth nationally in scoring margin (+20.1). Duke tops the conference and ranks seventh in the country in rebounding margin (+10.4).

Cameron Boozer is the nation’s sixth-leading scorer with 22.7 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.1 rpg), is eighth in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg), and third in field goal percentage (.583). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 28 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS) Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888) and is the ACC’s 11th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.7 points per league game.

The Blue Devils currently sit at 27-2 with a 15-1 ACC record. Duke has clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship for the 22nd time. Duke made a record 148th appearance atop the weekly Associated Press top-25 poll. (Feb. 23). They are No. 1 in NET rankings and own 12 Quad-1 wins, the second-most in the country. (Mar. 1) The Blue Devils have secured 10 top-25 victories, the most in the regular season in ACC history. The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation according to KenPom and are one of just two teams ranked in the top six nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.9, 6th) and defensive efficiency (88.3, 1st) ratings. The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are second nationally in scoring margin (+20.3). They rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (62.5 ppg). Duke tops the conference and ranks sixth in the country in rebounding margin (+10.3). Cameron Boozer is the nation’s seventh-leading scorer with 22.5 points per game, and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.0 rpg), is eighth in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg), and fourth in field goal percentage (.577). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 29 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS) Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888) and is the ACC’s 13th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.8 points per league game. Evans and Patrick Ngongba both overall are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14.5 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.

Last Time Out:

A strong three-point shooting first half helped No. 1 Duke defeat No. 11 Virginia, 77-51, on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With the victory, the Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC) clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season title and will be the No. 1-seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. Duke’s defense held the Cavaliers (25-4, 13-3 ACC) to just 51 points, 31.3 points below their season average of 82.3 points per game and a season-low offensive output. Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 19 points, fueled by four triples in the first half, including three before the game’s first media timeout. Cameron Boozer joined Evans in double-figures with 18 points, while finishing one rebound off another double-double, grabbing nine boards. Patrick Ngongba II rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points. Caleb Foster paced the Blue Devils in assists with a game-high six, while also grabbing six rebounds. As a team, Duke shot 12-of-24 from deep, including 8-of-13 (.615) in the first half, the team’s best three-point percentage in a first half this season. The victory over Virginia represents the Blue Devils’ 10th win over a top-25 foe this season, making Duke the first team in the history of the ACC to win at least 10 regular-season games against ranked opponents.

The Blue Devil’s perimeter defense will be tested against Will Wade’s team. NC State is 13th nationally with an ACC-best 3-point shooting percentage of 38.6%. 4 of their 5 starters are averaging 40% or better from beyond the arc. Ball pressure will be important for Duke, but also the ability to close on shooters effectively once NC State gets them into rotation. With the amount of shooting on the floor for State, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duke add a defensive wrinkle, as there isn’t a person on the floor Duke can afford to leave open outside of Lubin. The Wolfpack also top the conference with 8.4 steals per outing, so a good offensive floor game will also be paramount for Duke. The Blue Devils have to take care of the basketball against NC State, which doesn’t just mean guard play but also play from the bigs. The NC State guards do a great job of digging defensively, so there has to be an acute awareness of their abilities to generate those steals by both the interior and perimeter of Duke’s offense. If Duke does commit an inordinate amount of live-ball turnovers, then their transition defense has to be solid. Force them to utilize a secondary break and play against a set defense, where Duke should have an advantage.

Where the Blue Devils should flourish is both in the paint and on the boards. Duke has a significant size advantage on the interior, and if Duke can chase the Wolfpack off the line they should be able to get separation by forcing the ball into the paint.