NC State led Duke by 7 going into the half on Saturday afternoon. They were playing great defense, Cat Barber was the best player on the floor and they were 6-9 from beyond the arc. Gottfried’s group was doing everything they needed to do to down the Blue Devils.
Things changed in the second half. Duke got red hot, Barber was slowed by a leg injury and Abu got into foul trouble. This propelled Duke to a masterful second half that saw them shoot 70% from the field and end up out-rebounding NC State 31-28. Here are our takeaways from last nights loss.
– Gottfried had these guys ready. It took them a few possessions to get comfortable playing against Duke’s extended zone, but you could tell right off the bat that they knew exactly what they wanted to do. They worked hard to get the ball inside the zone to the high post and then work from there. Abu and Cody Martin both did great work from this position and it was a real reason State took their early lead. When Abu got in foul trouble and they were forced to put Freeman there, things got dicey. While Freeman is a very good player, he does not offer much when he catches the ball at the high post. This hurt the Pack and was a reason they went a bit stagnant at times in the 2nd half.
– Cat was never the same after he was kneed by Plumlee early in the 2nd half. Barber was masterful in this game. He was quick enough to get away from the double teams and was knocking down nearly every shot he took in the first half, but after that small injury Cat didn’t score another point all game. That was a huge blow and was another reason for State’s second half demise.
– Defense has got to be better. Grayson Allen had 28 points and Brandon Ingram scored 25. Those two guys killed the Pack. Allen is a true talent and can score from anywhere on the court, but he’s best when going to the rim. One major problem was penetration. The Wolfpack could not keep their guys in front of them and it caused all kinds of havoc. When Allen and Kennard starting putting pressure on the D by driving, there was no one who stepped up. Now, they are good, quick guards with good body control, but they are by no means too quick to stay in front of. State desperately needs to figure out how to play in games like this with Mav Rowan. He hit some big shots early, but his defense really puts pressure on the rest of the team. Too often his man is getting by him and causing the dense to help and shift, and usually giving up an open shot. This was huge in the second half and something Gottfried needs to find a fix for. But it wasn’t just Rowan. Even Cody Martin was having trouble checking his man. You know that they want to contest shots, but they need to do so under control. This team is notorious for closing-out out of control and allowing a pump fake to take them out of position.
Then there was Brandon Ingram. NC State worked real hard in getting the Kinston native to Raleigh, but in the end Coach K landed him and man was he good. Ingram is such a tough matchup. He is tall, nimble and has great touch. He can shoot and score from just about anywhere on the court. He was obviously going to be a problem for the Wolfpack, but we didn’t think he would be this much of one. The thing with Ingram is that while he is a mismatch on offense, you can punish him in the post on D. But Duke didn’t let that happen. They were in a lot of zone and when they weren’t they always had Ingram on someone who couldn’t hurt him as bad offensively. These small things are the reason Coach K is the best coach in the history of college basketball and a major reason Duke won this game.
– Rebounding wasn’t great. State had a big advantage on the boards coming in, but it was the Blue Devils who won the battle. Abu only had 5 and Anya with just 4. Those numbers need to be better. In fact, NC State needs to light a fire under Beejay Anya. I’m not sure what’s up with him, but he looks lost out there a lot of the time. He is too talented to be just a body on the floor. He only had one block, 4 boards and 4 points in 19 minutes. Every single one of those numbers are too low. It seems like a confidence problem right now, but if State wants to be a major factor in the second half of the ACC season, Anya needs stop playing soft and get to work.
– Overall, Wolfpack fans should be proud. Duke may had lost 3 in a row coming into this game, but they are probably one of the most talented offensive teams in the country. State’s offense and defense looked great in the first half, and it looked great against Pitt and UNC. This team is trending up. They just need to keep grinding. Keep staying the course, and start getting a little more from a few guys. If that happens then you’ll see this team finish out the season strong.
