Duke 71, N.C. State 56, :47: At this point, the game is over, and Duke is putting on a clinic in clock management. Krzyzewski is basically directing the offense from the sideline, and the defense is impeccable: Henderson just got two straight steals, and earned an easy dunk on the second one. After an indifferent first 25 minutes, Duke clamped down on D, made some shots, and looks set to earn its fourth ACC win. We'll be back with more after the game.
Duke 62, N.C. State 55, 5:00 Could that be the game? A quick 8-2 run by Duke, capped by an open-court dunk by Henderson, gives the Blue Devils by far their biggest lead of the night. Since Singler and Smith found their shooting stroke, Duke has looked in control of this game, and an exclamation point from G doesn't hurt one bit.
Duke 54, N.C. State 53, 7:58: The Blue Devils pull ahead after two quick threes from point guard Nolan Smith and extend it to three after a jumper by Singler, but a Wolfpack lineup consisting of five substitutes scores inside and gets fouled. A free throw by reserve Tracy Smith is to come, and with it the Wolfpack could pull even. Interestingly, Singler is staying on the court even though he has four fouls--let's see how this plays out.
N.C. State 49, Duke 46, 10:13: Duke should thank its lucky stars that Gerald Henderson thinks this is the NBA combine, because G is keeping the Blue Devils in the game with midrange jumper after midrange jumper. Still, N.C. State isn't rattled, and has managed to stay in front thanks to several second-chance basket by Brandon Costner and Courtney Fells down low. The Blue Devils had tied the game at 41, but Costner has put the Wolfpack on his generously sized shoulders since.
One guy we haven't mentioned tonight: Jon Scheyer. The junior has yet to score tonight.
N.C. State 36, Duke 34: The Blue Devils aren't playing well--witness Kyle Singler's pedestrian stat line of six points, two boards, and three fouls, for example--but at least they are playing with some fire this half. State started well, getting a couple of baskets inside from Ben McCauley, but Duke's Henderson came back with two straight baskets. That was followed by a 3-pointer from Singler, putting Duke in position to make a run. Thanks to the crowd for finally showing up as well; sounds like the fans just now found out you CAN use your outdoor voice at Cameron.
HALFTIME: N.C. State 26, Duke 22: Duke looked like the No. 2 team in the country for about five minutes; since then, the Blue Devils look more like a middle-of-the-road ACC team, i.e. N.C. State. But this happened last year as well. Duke trailed by nine then, and ran away with the game after a great performance by Greg Paulus in the second half. My best is that Duke rebounds as it did in 2008.
Duke 20, N.C. State 19, 3:54: Well, so much for that prediction. The Blue Devils follow this crowd's lead in acting like they are sitting at a BAA 93 lecture--yes, it's that uninspired--and now the Wolfpack trail by just one. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was furious just a moment ago, screaming "Jon, what are you doing?!" at guard Jon Scheyer after his second turnover of the game.
Duke 18, N.C. State 12, 7:23: Duke comes back from one of its ugliest posessions of the year, one in which all four guys without the ball basically stood around and watched Nolan Smith, with a quick basket by Henderson, who then forces a turnover at the other end. The Wolfpack are in the game, but it feels like Duke could pull away if it decides to do so. By the way, nine Blue Devils have played already--of all the guys in the regular rotation, only Elliot Williams has yet to see the floor.
Duke 12, N.C. State 7, 11:11 left in the first half: N.C. State was able to attempt a shot on every posession since the last timeout, and the score reflects that. After a hectic opening few minutes, both teams are starting to settle down, although for the Blue Devils, it might be better to get back to the pace they were looking playing at earlier. Duke's scoring has been balanced so far, with no one player scoring more than three points just yet.
Duke 8, N.C. State 1, 14:30 left in the first half: Five minutes in, the Blue Devils are controlling everything--the tempo, the boards, the clock--and lead by seven. The lead could have been 12 or more, though, if not for some missed shots inside and several questionable no-calls around the rim. Brian Zoubek in particular has gotten a lot of touches in good spots, but has been able to capitalize just once. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, have turned the ball over several times already, and have attempted just two shots from the field so far. Not a winning formula, especially when Gerald Henderson is making spectacular blocks like he did just a minute ago.
PREGAME: Welcome to Cameron Indoor Stadium, on a snowy day in Durham, for a matchup between No. 2 Duke and local rival N.C. State. Pretty weak showing by the crowd so far--there are quite a few empty seats in the upper bowl just one minute before tip, and the corners of the student section are empty as well. Maybe that's because of the weather, which has been frigid since Thursday.
Two fun sightings in the crowd: J.J. Redick, Duke legend of a few years ago (with a beautiful blonde next to him), and Wolfpack coach Sydney Lowe's fabulous red blazer.
Records: Duke is 16-1, 3-0 in the ACC, while the Wolfpack is 10-5, 1-2 in conference.
Starters:
N.C. State: Costner, Fells, Degand, Williams, McCauley
Duke: Zoubek, Singler, Smith, Henderson, Scheyer
Starting lineups:
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