When the men's basketball team travels to Raleigh to face N.C. State tonight at 9 p.m. in the RBC Center, it will carry with it some unfamiliar and unwanted baggage: a loss.
The No. 3 Blue Devils (12-1, 3-1 in the ACC) became the last team in the nation to lose a game when they were dominated at Maryland this Saturday, a loss which dropped the Blue Devils from their perch atop the polls and prompted head coach Mike Krzyzewski to criticize the team's play.
"We're concerned about everything," Krzyzewski said. "We've got a team that still has a lot of development, and [the Maryland game was] not a good effort on our part."
Aside from trying to regain its swagger following the lopsided defeat, Duke hopes to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since November 1999. The last time Duke lost two straight regular season ACC games was in 1997, when J.J. Redick was in seventh grade.
Recent history suggests that Redick and the Blue Devils will rebound quite nicely. Since Duke's last back-to-back losses in 1999, it has won its ten games following a regular season defeat by an average of 29.3 points. Krzyzewski
"I want to see our reaction after [losing to] Maryland," Krzyzewski said. "Has it done something to our confidence level? Do we get stronger as a result of that loss? Do we learn?"
Duke will be confronted with a talented but inconsistent N.C. State (9-4, 2-1) team determined to end a 13-game losing streak against the Blue Devils.
"We haven't beaten them since I've been here, so we [would like] to change that," N.C. State forward Marcus Melvin said. "When you play those guys...there's no room for error. [But] if we can limit our mistakes, I think we'll be fine."
The Wolfpack is led by versatile sophomore guard Julius Hodge, who ranks second in the ACC with 18.8 points per game and also places among the ACC's top ten in rebounding, assists, steals, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage.
"He's been outstanding all year," Krzyzewski said of Hodge. "He does everything, and he does it well. He's the key to their team. When he's playing well, they go up a notch."
Fortunately for Duke, N.C. State lacks the strong inside presence that Duke's toughest competitors this season have had. The Wolfpack's two biggest contributors in the paint are 6-foot-9 Josh Powell and the 6-8 Melvin, both of whom average fewer than 14 points and seven rebounds per game. As a result, Duke will be able to focus on stopping Hodge.
It would behoove the Blue Devils to do so, because if Hodge can lead the Wolfpack to a victory, not only would Duke be saddled with consecutive losses for the first time in years, but it would find itself in another unfamiliar position: the middle of the pack in the suddenly tight ACC standings. Duke is tied for first with Maryland at 3-1, but several other teams-including N.C. State-lurk just behind at 2-1.
The close race sits fine with Krzyzewski, who is looking forward to the challenge facing his young team.
"We've had a couple of good days of practice and we're going to get ready for the conference now," Krzyzewski said. "We'll be ready to play. The only way we'll get through this is to play good people in tough places."
Gopack.com contributed to this story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.