NC State 57 #2 Duke 67: BY THE NUMBERS

A quick glance at the box score, and you might have expected NC State to pull off a massive upset over #2 Duke at Cameron Indoor.

The Wolfpack shot the ball better than the Blue Devils, hitting 40.7% from the field and 45.5% from three. The Blue Devils shot 39% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc. NC State tied a season high by sinking 10 three-pointers, while Duke only hit 4, tying a season low. The Wolfpack’s three-point percentage was a season high.

Both teams scored 17 points off turnovers, and Duke had only a +1 advantage in second-chance points.

They both shot 85.7% from the free-throw line, a season high for the Pack.

NC State was extremely unselfish, dishing out 15 assists on 24 made field goals.

So, where did things go wrong statistically?

The free-throw line.

Duke hit 24 free throws, while NC State made only 6.

While the abundance of made free throws was significant, it wasn’t the only statistic leaning in Duke’s favor. They had 3 fewer turnovers (10/13), were +15 in rebounding, and +8 in offensive rebounds.

The Wolfpack came out guns blazing to start the game. After Dontrez Styles hit a three at the 18:52 mark in the 1st half to give NC State a 3-2 lead, they held that lead for the remainder of the half. The Pack led by as much as 13 in the 1st and went into halftime with a 4-point lead.

It was a half of runs. NC State had two 8-point runs, and Duke had a run of 8 and a run of 7 to close the half.

Speaking of runs, Duke carried the momentum from the end of the 1st half into the start of the 2nd. From the 1:31 mark in the 1st to the 14:25 mark in the 2nd, the Blue Devils went on a 19-0 run. After taking the lead at the 16:45 mark in the 2nd, they would never relinquish it again.

There were many occasions where it looked like Duke might pull away, but they never held a double-digit lead until they hit two free throws with 13 seconds left in the game. With 4:40 left on the clock, the Pack trailed by only 1 point.

Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg was too much for NC State. Dontrez Styles all but shut Flagg down in the 1st half, holding him to 5 points. Unfortunately, Styles got into foul trouble for much of the 2nd half, and Flagg ran rampant, scoring 23 of his 28 points in the 2nd half.

Styles was the Wolfpack’s leading scorer this evening, with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field and 4 of 6 from three. His four threes were a season high.

The most exciting development tonight was the coming-out party for freshman Trey Parker, who had a career-high 15 points, hitting a career-high 3 three-pointers. He was 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from three. Scoring 15 points in 19 minutes is quite impressive.

Despite the valiant effort, the fact remains that NC State is now 2-7 in the ACC. This is the worst start in ACC play under Kevin Keatts, a hard pill to swallow after winning the ACC Tournament and advancing to the Final Four last year. The last time the Wolfpack started ACC play 2-7 was in the 2015-16 season under Mark Gottfried.

Next up for NC State is a home game against Clemson on Saturday at 1:30 PM on The CW.