Duke usually goes through difficult times at the PNC Arena.
Not on Saturday.
The Blue Devils used a warm start from the 3-point line and a defensive kickback effort to strangle NC State 69-53.
Duke (8-8, 6-6 ACC) had lost four of his previous five games at the PNC Arena. Blue Devils used a 17-2 run in the first half to take control of the game.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who turned 74 on Saturday, said improvement in defense was the focus of training ahead of this game.
“I am proud of my boys,” said Krzyzewski. “They really responded to what we do.”
Duke hit five of his first seven points out of 3 and finished in 9 out of 18. He made 51 percent of his field goals for the game. Second-year striker Matthew Hurt led Devils’ balanced effort with 24 points. Freshman striker Mark Williams scored 13 points and five blocks, the best of the season.
“Mark is getting better and better,” said Krzyzewski. “He is learning to play physically.”
NC State (8-9, 4-8) was slow since the jump and was unable to conjure the usual mojo he has for a home game with the Blue Devils. Wolfpack spun the ball 18 times and shot 20 percent of the 3-point line. It is the second consecutive game that NC State has had a turnaround problem. He had 20 in Tuesday’s loss to Syracuse.
“We have to narrow and take care of the ball,” said state guard Shakeel Moore. “There are 18 chances that we don’t need to score. We need those possessions. Possessions count in this league.”
Moore led Wolfpack with 13 points. NC State lost its first six points out of 3 and finished the game 2 out of 10. It did not make its first 3 until 7:30 of the second half.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts was particularly dismayed by the 13 games in the first half on Saturday.
“When I saw the break statistics sheet, I almost lost my mind,” said Keatts. “I think it’s something that we can fix, but we need to fix it quickly.”
For Duke, it was a “hit” game as he tried to make a miraculous effort at the end of the season to extend his NCAA tournament streak, which started in 1996.
The Devils entered the game with a streak of three consecutive losses and points lost. It all started with a 77-75 loss in Miami on February 1 and continued with consecutive defeats to North Carolina (91-87) and Notre Dame (93-89).
Duke turned an 11-10 lead into a 28-12 margin by the 9:05 mark in the first half. The Devils won five points each from Hurt and Wendell Moore during the race.
For NC State, it was another disappointing loss in a series of them. Since a 2-0 start in the ACC game, Wolfpack has gone 2-8.
Unlike the closest losses to Virginia or Syracuse, this was more like the explosion in the state of Florida (105-73) on January 13th.
This was the last game that NC State played before its season was paused for the second time by the COVID-19 protocols. The team is not the same since the second break.