Duke 76, N.C. State 84 (FINAL): The Blue Devils are undefeated no more.
C.J. Leslie scored 25 points and Richard Howell added 16 points and 18 rebounds as Duke fell to N.C. State 84-76 at PNC Arena. The Blue Devils were within reach for the entire second half, but the Wolfpack dominated the inside and Duke was too shorthanded to pull off another magical victory witha Triangle opponent.
Playing without senior captain Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry led the Blue Devils with 22 points but left the game late in the second half after injuring his ankle. We will keep you updated on Curry's injury status in our postgame analysis.
Duke 67, N.C. State 73 (3:15 second half): Duke is keeping the game within reach, but is running out of time.
Seth Curry continues to keep the Blue Devils alive, leading the team with 22 points and knocking down huge 3-pointers to keep his team in the game. But Duke is struggling to contain N.C. State on the inside. Richard Howell has owned the inside in the second half, with 16 points and 15 rebounds on the afternoon, and has completely neutralized Mason Plumlee, who has tallied just three points and two rebounds in the second half.
Curry went to the floor just before the last timeout, clutching the ankle that has been bothering him all season. He was replaced by Rasheed Sulaimon.
With just minutes remaining in the contest, it appears Duke will need some late-game theatrics to keep its undefeated record and spot atop the national polls.
Duke 57, N.C. State 66 (7:44 second half): Amile Jefferson returns to the game but picks up his fifth foul less than a minute later. That's a big loss for duke down the stretch—the freshman has played his best game in a Duke uniform today.
N.C. State has now scored eight unanswered points. Rodney Purvis laid it in over Rasheed Sulaimon and was fouled in the act. He will shoot one free throw when action resumes. The Blue Devils are now in a dangerous position here.
Duke 57, N.C. State 58 (10:20 second half): It appears the Blue Devils are starting to play a bit frustrated here. Curry commits an offensive foul and then Jefferson picks up his fourth on a questionable reach. That's a big blow for Duke, after seeing excellent production from the freshman with 10 points and four rebounds.
Quinn Cook took control for the Blue Devils on the fast break, taking his time and reading his options before dishing to Hairston for another easy bucket. Duke needs to avoid playing too fast here, still trailing by single digits with a ton of basketball left to play.
Cook laid in another runner in the lane to bring Duke back to within four before a poor defensive switch resulted in an open 3-pointer for N.C. State's Lorenzo Brown. Seth Curry brought the Blue Devils back to within one, stumbling through the lane for the layup and knocking down a big 3-pointer to settle Duke's nerves.
Duke 43, N.C. State 49 (15:40 second half): It appears Mason Plumlee can't do it alone on the inside for Duke. The senior was beaten twice on the offensive glass by Richard Howell in the second's half opening minutes. Howell converted on both putbacks to extend N.C. State's lead to six points.
Rodney Purvis cut to the basket and made a bucket over Josh Hairston, but missed his free throw with the opportunity for the 3-point play. Amile Jefferson made his way back onto the floor and Alex Murphy checked in for the first time with Duke needing a spark. Howell beat Plumlee again on the inside to extend the Wolfpack's lead to eight before Jefferson responded with another big bucket inside.
Overall the play was sloppy from the Blue Devils in the opening minutes of the half. They settled for too many outside shots and looked panicked when N.C. State started to pick up steam.
Duke 39, N.C. State 41 (halftime): The Wolfpack head into the locker room with a two-point advantage following an excellent first half from both sides. Struggling to hit from the outside, Duke has pounded the ball into the paint. Mason Plumlee leads the team with 10 points and eight rebounds in one half of play. The Blue Devils converted on just 2-of-8 opportunities from 3-point range, those coming from Seth Curry in the final minutes of the first half.
The surprise for Duke has undoubtedly been the inspired play of freshman Amile Jefferson, who is seeing his first major minutes of the season in the absence of Ryan Kelly. Jefferson has brought his energy to both ends of the floor and has recorded eight points, three rebounds and two blocks.
This game should be a barn burner in the second half. Ultimately, whoever controls the tempo will have the upper hand. The Blue Devils have been most successful when slowing the game down, and have struggled to keep up with N.C. State's athleticism.
Notable halftime stats:
- Duke out-rebounding N.C. State 22-15, including 11 boards on the offensive glass
- Combined 12 points and six rebounds from Amile Jefferson and Josh Hairston
- Poor backcourt shooting, with Cook, Curry and Sulaimon a combined 5-for-22 from the field
- Wolfpack's Scott Wood 3-for-3 from beyond-the-arc
- Blue Devils with 16 second-chance points, Wolfpack with 14 fast-break points
- 0 minutes for Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee
Duke 29, N.C. State 33 (3:47 first half): The game's opening minutes seemed like a track meet, but as the first half wore on the pace settled and the game became reminiscent of a heavyweight prizefight.
Physical play dominated both ends of the floor, as both Duke and N.C. State made defensive stands on the inside. The Blue Devils drew offensive fouls on two consecutive possessions and got a huge block from Jefferson, who finished with a lay-in on the other end.
C.J. Leslie knocked down a jumper from the wing to tie the game at 29-29 with less than five minutes to play in the first half. Even without Ryan Kelly, the Blue Devils are still looking to pound the ball inside—the team is 0-for-5 from beyond-the-arc.
The Wolfpack seized momentum in a big way heading into the final media timeout of the first half, with a lay-in by Leslie off of a lob and a huge dunk by Rodney Purvis in transition. N.C. State now leads 33-29.
Duke 27, N.C. State 23 (7:53 first half): After an impressive Duke run, N.C. State mounted a quick response to keep this game from running away early.
Curry knocked down the free throw to complete the 3-point play. Duke has been getting inspired play from the combination of Josh Hairston and Amile Jefferson, who are replacing Ryan Kelly's lost production in a big way. The pair has combined for 10 Duke points in the early going.
The Blue Devils suffered a couple of minor lapses on the defensive end, allowing freshman T.J. Warren to notch two easy buckets inside for N.C. State.
Rasheed Sulaimon went up for a huge slam on the fast break but felt a ton of pressure from the Wolfpack's C.J. Leslie on the way up. Sulaimon missed the flush, but Cook was there to grab the offensive rebound and draw a foul, knocking down two free throws for the Blue Devils to give them a 25-19 advantage.
Cook and Mason Plumlee have been sparkplugs for Duke, combining to force a turnover that led to a massive slam by Plumlee to extend Duke's lead to eight—its largest of the game. The Wolfpack did not take long to respond, however, as Scott Wood knocked down his third 3-ball of the game and took a heavy foul in the act from Tyler Thornton. Thornton picked up a technical foul on the play and Wood converted on the 4-point play to cut Duke's lead in half instantly.
Duke 20, N.C. State 15 (11:26 first half): After a slow start, the crowd in Raleigh remembers why Duke is the No. 1 team in the country.
Duke took the ball out of the media timeout and wasted no time, finding Josh Hairston on a nice weakside backdoor cut for his second bucket of the game. But N.C. State quickly seized momentum when Howell responded with another bucket and Wood knocked down his second 3-pointer of the afternoon to give the Wolfpack a 12-8 advantage.
Tyler Thornton and Amile Jefferson were the first two men off the bench for the Blue Devils. Jefferson, a true freshman, was heavily considering N.C. State before committing to Duke last May. Fresh off a career-high 27-point performance, Quinn Cook knocked down his first shot of the game, a runner in the lane that trimmed Duke's deficit to 13-10.
Cook then found Jefferson for a runner of his own on Duke's next possession to pull within one before the teams traded putbacks with a thunderous C.J. Leslie slam and two consecutive putbacks by Mason Plumlee to give Duke its first lead of the game at 16-15. Plumlee has been a force on the inside in the early going, with six points and five rebounds in the game's first eight minutes.
The Blue Devils then converted on the defensive end, getting a steal and capping the transition opportunity off with a pretty spin move by Cook, who dished to Jefferson for another lay-in. Seth Curry got the Duke bench fired up heading into the game's second media timeout, knocking down a jumper from the wing plus the foul. The Blue Devils lead 20-15 as Curry will head to the line after the break. That stretch was some of Duke's best basketball of the season.
Duke 6, N.C. State 7 (15:44 first half): The Blue Devils are getting what they came for—a dogfight with the Wolfpack.
Scott Wood opened up the game's scoring with a 3-pointer for the Wolfpack, sending the N.C. State-faithful into a frenzy at PNC Arena. Mason Plumlee responded with an offensive rebound and jump hook to silence the crowd.
The Blue Devils' ball movement has certainly slowed in the absence of senior Ryan Kelly. Josh Hairston has provided physical play inside to start the game, but is simply less capable on the offensive end. Rasheed Sulaimon was able to get into the act early, drawing a foul in a transition opportunity and converting Duke's first two free throws of the game.
Wolfpack forward Richard Howell and Mason Plumlee are going at it in the post in the early going, with each converting opportunities down low. Hairston was able to clean up a Plumlee miss to draw Duke within one heading into the game's first media timeout.
Pregame: Welcome everyone, thanks for tuning in with Duke basketball set to tip off against N.C. State at 12:00 p.m. today at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. This will be the first true road game of the season for the No. 1 Blue Devils, who hold a perfect 15-0 record and have won their first two conference tilts against Wake Forest and Clemson. The Wolfpack currently sit at 13-2 and have won nine consecutive games, winning their first two ACC contests against Boston College and Georgia Tech.
Starters
Duke: G Quinn Cook, G Seth Curry, G Rasheed Sulaimon, F Josh Hairston, F Mason Plumlee
N.C. State: G Lorenzo Brown, G Rodney Purvis, F Scott Wood, F Richard Howell, F C.J. Leslie
Check back here for live analysis throughout the game and follow @dukebasketball on Twitter for instant updates. Here are some pregame observations:
- According to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy, Duke has a 79% chance of winning this afternoon. Pomeroy projected an 81-71 final score.
- The spread on the game in sports books is Duke (-2.5) with the total set at 147.
- Senior Ryan Kelly, who at 17.0 points per game has been Duke's leading scorer in conference play, will not play today due to a right foot injury suffered in Tuesday's victory against Clemson.
- Kelly will be replaced in the starting lineup by junior Josh Hairston, who will be making his first start of the season. Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee are all expected to see increased minutes in Kelly's absence.
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