For a team like Duke that has struggled away from home, a visit to the RBC Center in Raleigh could serve as the perfect antidote as it seeks to remedy its road woes.
The No. 7 Blue Devils (15-2, 3-1 in the ACC) looked impressive in its two ACC wins against Boston College and Wake Forest in Cameron Indoor Stadium last week. But they take on local rival N.C. State tonight at 9 p.m. in Raleigh, and Duke has yet to put together a complete performance in a true road environment.
The team has played outside of Cameron six times, yet four of those contests took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The other two, of course, represent Duke’s only losses of the season—at Wisconsin in early December and in Atlanta against Georgia Tech Jan. 9.
Fortunately for Duke, N.C. State has shown it can be beaten at home.
The Wolfpack (12-6, 1-3) has already dropped four games in the RBC Center. ACC losses to Clemson and a high-flying Virginia team, along with an early-season defeat against Northwestern and a demoralizing buzzer-beater loss to Florida, have made N.C. State’s home court anything but a fortress. And Duke’s players feel like they have a point to prove against the Wolfpack, even though N.C. State sits near the bottom of the conference standings.
“It’s really easy not to [look ahead on the schedule] because people say we can’t win on the road,” senior guard Jon Scheyer said after the 90-70 win against the Demon Deacons. “We’ve been looking forward to our next road game for a while now, so we will be ready to go Wednesday.”
Tonight’s contest should serve as a barometer for Duke’s ability to win in difficult venues, especially considering the team’s next road trip—at Clemson in the intimidating Littlejohn Coliseum this Saturday. Nearly every member of this Blue Devil squad traveled to Clemson last year and experienced a humiliating 27-point whipping.
And a road win in advance of the test against the Tigers could give Duke a confidence boost.
The Blue Devils should also try to avoid a letdown after the win against Wake Forest, a bruising contest that head coach Mike Krzyzewski called the most physical game of the season. Krzyzewski was pleased with his team’s victory Sunday, but he and his players acknowledged that ACC wins never come easy.
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, whose team stole a three-point win against N.C. State Saturday, understands how challenging the conference can be. His squad was beaten soundly by Duke in Cameron, but then responded by crushing North Carolina last week. Still, the Tigers were pushed to the brink by the Wolfpack in a 73-70 win Saturday.
“It’s just a tough thing [when] you have a big emotional win and then you’ve got to go on the road in the ACC, on Tobacco Road, and win,” Purnell said.
Duke can at least take some comfort in its dominance against the Wolfpack. The Blue Devils have won 23 of the last 26 games in the series, including the last three on N.C. State’s home court. But the Wolfpack have been competitive nearly every night this season, and Duke can expect its rival’s best effort.
A loss Wednesday would mark another disappointing defeat outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium and leave the question of whether this Duke squad can win on the road unresolved. A victory, however, would allow the Blue Devils to begin to separate themselves as the class of the ACC.
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