After two road wins against Wake Forest and Florida State, the Blue Devils (20-2, 7-2 in the ACC) returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a rematch against N.C. State (16-7, 5-5). The Wolfpack handed Duke its first defeat on Jan. 12 in the first game without forward Ryan Kelly. This time around the Blue Devils were able to have some revenge, defeating N.C. State 98-85.
Here’s your post-game recap:
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- The walking wounded: Both teams, playing without starters in Ryan Kelly and Lorenzo Brown, were clearly stretched to use their reserves. Alex Murphy was on the floor early in the first half and had a spectacular dunk in the first half. Tyler Thornton played extended minutes, recording six assists and only one turnover. For the Wolfpack, Tyler Lewis was able to step in ably in the place of Brown. He recorded 13 points and six assists, on 4-of-8 shooting. In the end, it was foul trouble that condemned both forwards C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell to the bench as N.C. State put the pressure on Duke.
- Can Quinn capitalize? It’s hard to say Quinn Cook really capitalized as Tyler Lewis had a strong game in Brown’s absence. Cook’s offensive game was strong, though, making his first four three-point attempts and finishing 6-of-8 for 21 points.
- ‘Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed: The freshman came out of the blocks strong, scoring the first six points of the game in the first minute. He hits another three by the four minute mark, but only finishes with 11 points. Sulaimon had to deal with foul trouble, though, ending the game with four fouls, which would have limited his playing time and his offensive production.
Three key plays:
- 19:08 1st half : Sulaimon’s hot shooting continues and he starts off with the team’s first six points in the first minute alone. In his first play a strong drive to the hoop resulted in a foul on the shot. On the next trip Sulaimon drains a three, giving Duke a lead it would not relinquish.
- 7:57 2nd half: Cook seemed to have lost his dribble under the hoop, but he regains control and falling back in traffic he take the shot and sinks the basket, stemming the pressure by the Wolfpack.
- 0:23 2nd half: Mason Plumlee dunks over Jordan Vandenberg and gets the foul. His three-point play ices the win for Duke and gives him another 30-point game.
Three key stats:
- Duke’s 24 three-point attempts. The Blue Devils made 10 of these in the first half, en route to their highest points total in the first half. The three pointers stopped falling in the second half as the Wolfpack mounted their comeback. Duke didn't hit a trey in the second half.
- Duke’s 54% shooting percentage. After starting the game continuing its’ great shooting from the previous contest, shooting over 60% in the first half, the Blue Devils’ shots stopped falling in the second and only shot 54% for the game. Still, an impressive clip, leading to 98 points.
- N.C. State’s 53% shooting percentage. Contrasting Duke, the Wolfpack shot poorly in the first half, falling behind by 21 at halftime. N.C. State was 9-for-11 to start the second half and was able to cut the lead to single digits to make it a close game.
And the Duke game ball goes to … Mason Plumlee. In arguably his strongest game this season Mason Plumlee was close to another double-double with 30 points and 9 rebounds. Against the strong big man duo of C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell, Plumlee clearly shows his worth to the team and his candidacy as a National Player of the Year contender. This was his second 30-point effort in his last three games.
And the N.C. State game ball goes to … Richard Howell. Howell follows up a 16 point and 18 rebound performance against Duke with another strong showing. He fouls out with 3:41 to go with 23 points and 9 boards on 11-of-18 shooting. His impressive performance helped the N.C. State comeback, which lost its way as he went to the bench.
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