[GALLERY] NC State Upset Duke Via Blowout

RALEIGH, NC – The NC State men’s basketball team never trailed in defeating sixth-ranked Duke, 88-66, in front of a sold-out PNC Arena crowd Wednesday evening.

With the win, NC State improves to 17-9, 8-7 in the ACC while Duke falls to

The 22-point win is the largest for the Pack over a top-10 opponent since March 7, 1959 when the Wolfpack beat fifth-ranked North Carolina, 80-56, in Reynolds Coliseum. It also marks the largest margin of defeat for Duke to an unranked opponent in the Mike Krzyzewski era.

It’s NC State’s biggest margin of victory over Duke since Jan. 7, 1978 when the Pack beat the Blue Devils, 74-50, inside Reynolds Coliseum.

Devon Daniels (25 points) and Markell Johnson (28 points) both had career-highs while D.J. Funderburk added 21 points.

All three players also grabbed nine rebounds while C.J. Bryce led the team with 10 rebounds. NC State finished the game with 51 rebounds and outrebounded the Blue Devils by nine.

NC State finished the game 8-of-13 from three-point range, including 5-of-6 from Johnson. The Pack’s 61.5% three-point shooting was a season-best.

NC State jumped out to a 10-1 lead three minutes into the game and never looked back. Duke pulled within five, 14-9, but the Pack responded with a 14-4 run to take a 28-13 lead with 8:19 left in the first half. The Blue Devils never got within single digits again.

Duke was led by freshman forward Vernon Carey Jr who had game-highs in points (27) and rebounds (12). Tre Jones added 17 points as he and Carey combined for 44 of Duke’s 66 points.

The Wolfpack returns to action Saturday, February 22nd when it hosts eighth-ranked Florida State at 4 pm. Duke will host Virginia Tech in their next contest on Saturday at 8 pm.

Check out pictures from the NC State-Duke matchup below. Images by Lawrence Davis III.