Duke Dismantles N.C. State

Raleigh, NC—The Duke University Blue Devils dismantled the North Carolina State Wolfpack by a score of 69-53 at PNC Arena on February 13th. Duke was locked in defensively throughout the contest, forcing N.C. State into frequent turnovers and missed shots. 

 

Duke didn’t pull away out of the gate, trading baskets with the Wolfpack to begin the contest. Duke was in a tight contest leading by a score of 11-10 when they decided to pull away and never look back. Duke went on a 14-0 scoring run over the next six minutes of game time. This run put Duke up by a score of 25-10 and put them securely in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the contest. The Blue Devils extended their early advantage, entering halftime with a 39-21 lead.

 

Duke sophomore forward Matthew Hurt was lights out from distance going 6-of-6 from three-point range during the contest before missing his final attempt on the way to a 24 point outing. 

 

The Blue Devils’ defense was on a mean streak, forcing 18 turnovers and scoring 22 points on these opportunities. With a combination of on-ball pressure and aggressive help, Duke managed to disrupt the Wolfpack’s offensive rhythm and protect their lead. Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t hold back about his team’s defensive tenacity, stating that “we played really good defense tonight” in reference to their dominant performance. 

 

Freshman forward Mark Williams played big minutes and scored a career-high 13 points in the contest. Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski noted this in his post-game comments and vowed to “get more minutes” for Williams in future contests. This is a shift from the previous lineup arrangement that saw Williams as a rotational player off of the bench more than a key contributor. Perhaps this game will signify a permanent shift in his role with the team going forward.

 

The second half was just more of the same for Duke, lights out shooting from Hurt combined with the stellar defensive play that stifled any progress the Wolfpack tried to make. The Wolfpack did stay engaged throughout, never letting the lead get too far past twenty points. They failed to close the gap to within any sort of a threatening margin, however. The Wolfpack were simply outplayed in their own arena today and it is just another setback for them on their journey through this pandemic stricken season. 

 

Duke could use this much-needed win in order to bolster their case for the postseason after an up-and-down stretch of games. 

 

Duke (8-8, 6-6 ACC) returns to action on February 17th to play Wake Forest (6-9, 3-9 ACC).