The past, present and future of Duke basketball were in Cameron Indoor Stadium yesterday as the third-ranked Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 in the ACC) defeated N.C. State (11-11, 3-7) 101-75.
Duke's 1991 NCAA championship team and verbally committed high school juniors Michael Thompson and J.J. Redick looked on as all five starters scored in double-figures, led by Jason Williams with 23.
The game got underway with the teams trading baskets for the first three minutes, making the score 9-7 Wolfpack. That was the last time N.C. State would lead.
Duke then went on a 30-7 run, highlighted by tough defense and great shooting, that lasted nearly nine-and-a-half minutes. In the same run, N.C. State committed nine turnovers and was held to just one field goal on 13 shots.
"Our defense was excellent today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We caused a good number of turnovers and shot for a good percentage. We fouled a little too much in the first half, but they put you in a position to do that because they have a very physical presence in the middle. Overall I was pleased with our performance."
Duke's game-breaking run in the first half was ignited by three straight three-pointers by Chris Duhon, Shane Battier and Nate James. Before the first TV timeout, the Blue Devils had turned a two-point deficit into a nine-point lead at 18-9.
The timeout did not end this momentum as the
After two N.C. State free throws, Damon Thornton made the Wolfpack's only field goal of the Duke run and its first in almost seven minutes to cut the Duke lead to 27-13 at the 10:08 mark.
That would be the closest the Wolfpack would get for the rest of the game as the Blue Devils ran off eight more points in the next minute-and-a-half. A dunk by James and two more three-pointers by Duhon and Battier made N.C. State's hopes of victory slim.
"Obviously, turnovers were a significant piece to us falling behind in the first half," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "It's difficult to stay even when you're not hitting your shots and they're shooting so prolifically from three. Even times when we did a fairly good job defending, they made shots and plays."
Duke's suffocating defense frustrated the N.C. State players all day, forcing 24 turnovers, 16 of which came in the first half. The Blue Devils held the Wolfpack's top two scorers, Anthony Grundy (15.5 ppg) and Damien Wilkins (13.1 ppg), to 12 combined points.
Wilkins played more then any other N.C. State player, yet he was held to just four shot attempts and forced into committing seven turnovers. Grundy, who like his teammates was plagued with foul trouble all day, was only able to connect on 2-of- 10 from the field.
After stretches of inconsistent play over the past few games, the Blue Devils were able to rebound yesterday and put together a solid outing where everyone contributed and played well.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and [in the past few weeks], we didn't flow like we did earlier on in the year," Battier said. "Basketball became like a hairy monster for us that we were scared to disturb, so we became cautious on the offensive end. When we're at our best, we're slaying that monster and attacking and fighting and having fun."
Duke regained its flow yesterday as the team shot 53 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the arc.
Both Battier and Williams had four three-pointers, while James and Boozer shot a combined 13-for-21 from the field for 19 and 17 points, respectively. Duhon was huge off the bench for the Blue Devils, hitting 2-of-4 from behind the arc and dishing out five assists to just one turnover.
"We did a nice job defensively and offensively," Dunleavy said. "Besides offensive rebounds and free throws they really didn't do too much. On the offensive end, we were aggressive and confident with our shots, heading back to our old ways.
"We are trying to get all six main guys to play well at once. It's been lately, two or three, mainly two, but when things can get rolling and we're in March and at least five of us are all playing well, we will be tough to beat."
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