Duke vs State: A Golden Opportunity

An athlete must have amnesia in order to be successful as staying in the moment is key to winning. Throughout a season and even a game teams will undoubtedly experience some sort of adversity in the form of injury, turnovers, or simply an off shooting night. State must forget the great win last night and lock in for a battle against the Duke Blue Devils. Fundamentals and discipline will have to be employed for the Wolfpack to continue their march in the ACC Tournament.

What must the Pack do in order to come away with another big win and prove that we are here to stay? How can we prove that Tobacco Road isn’t all about the “blue bloods”?

1. Guard the three point line:

Duke has been a team that thrives on the three point line, thus far on the season they are averaging 7 makes a game and shooting 39% from distance. The reason State upset Duke at the PNC this season is because they made a great effort to contest every three pointer and the result was a dismal performance as they were held to 7-27 (25.9%). Last night NC State was a little too passive in closing out on Pitt shooters and allowed them to have too many open looks from three point land. I cannot stress how important it is for State to take away the three ball tonight against the Devils as it dictates their every move throughout the game.

2. Keep Jahlil Okafor in check:

Last time the Pack played Okafor they sent numerous double teams and different looks, but Okafor still had an awesome game. He scored 23 points (8-11 shooting) and had, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. The diaper dandy has been as good as advertised; however, State must make him earn everything. How can they do that? Well I think we should go at him on offense and make him play defense. It is no secret that Okafor is passive on defense as he is afraid to pick up fouls, the Pack must use this to their advantage by driving the ball at him. Another way to keep him in check is to wear him down by allowing Anya to lean on him all game. Okafor will get tired of banging with Anya and that will result in tired legs late in the game.

3. Tyus Jones:

I am excited to watch the game within the game as Tyus Jones and Cat Barber will be matched up with each other. Both are young points guards who have shown the ability to carry their teams when they need them the most. Tyus Jones had his best game of the season last time out as he scored a career high 24 points versus bitter rival UNC. If you believe in the saying that you are only as good as your last game then we could be in for an epic battle tonight. Jones’ importance cannot be simply measured in the amount of points he scores but he also controls Duke’s offense and pace. He is an excellent floor general and does an admiral job of walking the line between calling his own number and distributing the ball to the hot hand. Cat must hound Jones tonight and use his length and speed advantage to make life difficult for him. Jones cannot be allowed free rein in the open court as that would spell death for the Pack!

4. Weather the storm:

Duke will make runs and hit tough shots, it is why they are ranked 2nd nationally and are a perennial fixture on top of the standings. When the Wolfpack finds themselves in the middle of a Duke flurry they must remain calm and execute. I am confident that Coach Gottfried has a solid grasp of his team and will be wise in using his timeouts to control the momentum. Gottfried was on point with the use of timeouts to help regroup our guys in the Dean Dome. He showed he was not afraid to burn a couple in succession to right the ship in the second half.  Our guys have shown over the last month or so that they have the mental toughness to withstand and answer opposing team’s runs. We have also learned that the best way to stop a run is to expend more energy on defense and force turnovers…nothing stops a run like a bad turnover.

Tonight’s game is hours away and I couldn’t be more excited for our match up. What more could we ask for? We get to play the second ranked team in the country and rival in the Duke Blue Devils. This is our chance to put the nation on high alert that the Pack is a force to be reckoned with. I know our players are anxiously awaiting the tip at 7PM tonight. If you cannot make the trip to Greensboro be sure to catch all the action on ESPN.