NC State Faces Duke

NC State will have to move on quickly, and utilize their downtime effectively to be prepared for Duke today at 2:30. In the two regular season meetings NC State lost to the Blue Devils; however, both games were competitive. Grayson Allen was problematic in both games as he scored 28 points in both games. In the match-up in Raleigh Duke won 88-78, and then a few weeks later Duke won 88-80 in Cameron. In the second game State witnessed just how lethal the Devils can be from beyond the arc as they knocked down 14, with Kennard connecting on 6. Another area that doomed the Pack was the 11 turnovers the had when visiting Duke, which yielded 15 points off those turnovers.

A telling tale for the game today is how NC State looks coming out of the gates, they cannot allow Duke to jump on them early. If State finds itself down big by the second media timeout then it could spiral into a bad game. The best way for State to prevent a big lead early is to be extremely selective and patient offensively. I am not saying they shouldn’t push the pace when the opportunity presents itself, but they have to work the ball inside to Abu! If Abu can get some baskets early and draw some fouls on Plumlee then State may be primed to pull the upset. As always State needs a secondary player to catch fire from the perimeter to help take the pressure off of Cat. Last game it was Rowan who knocked down a season high 6 three pointers. Can he replicate that performance? That has been the big question mark for Maverick all season, can he string together a couple of good games back to back?

On paper Duke has many advantages, plus they are well rested, but I can assure you that State will come out and play hard. They do not quit, and will fight until the end. Many things will have to fall State’s way for them to pull the upset today, but NC State has proved all year that they can play with any team. It is just a matter of not running out of gas and avoiding those dreaded offensive droughts. It will be up to Gottfried to use his timeouts wisely to give his team breathers, and derail any momentum shifts before they get out of hand.

Cat Barber appears to be ready for a third shot at Duke as he mentioned he is ready for the challenge after yesterdays win. Will his teammates be up for the task? We will find out at 2:30. Catch the action on WRAL locally as well as ESPN.