RALEIGH—The frigid North Carolina air may have followed the Blue Devils onto the hardwood Saturday.
After making the trek from Durham through the remnants of snow and ice on the road from Winter Storm Jonas, No. 20 Duke trails N.C. State 43-36 after 20 minutes at PNC Arena. The Blue Devils’ three-game losing streak in the arena could continue if the second half remains on pace, and the team could face its first four-game skid since it lost four games in a row twice during the 2006-07 season.
Duke broke open a 16-9 lead at the 13:29 minute mark following a breakaway dunk by Derryck Thornton, but a barrage of threes put the Wolfpack back on top quickly. N.C. State converted 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first half, led by point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber, who had 14 points.
On the other end of the floor, the Blue Devils were cold for much of the first half. Following a slow 29-point first half in Monday's 64-62 loss against Syracuse, Duke did not fare much better against the Wolfpack. The Blue Devils shot 15-for-35—including 3-of-14 from downtown—before trotting off the floor into the locker room.
Sophomore Grayson Allen kept Duke in it early, scoring 10 of his team’s first 14 points. Although the sharpshooter has not broken 20 points in his last four games—including the three straight losses—he is well on his way to surpassing his 20.1 points per game average after scoring a game-high 16 points in the first half.
Barber—the ACC’s leading scorer—used his quickness and agility to penetrate the struggling Duke defense, despite the myriad of different defensive looks head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad threw his way. Barber finished the half with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
When Barber was not shredding the Blue Devils on the offensive end, the Martin twins were busy having a productive start to the afternoon. Caleb Martin and Cody Martin combined for 13 points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Senior Amile Jefferson—missing his 11th game of the year with a fractured right foot—appears to be out of his boot and was standing on the Duke sideline pregame without crutches.
- Despite the snow across North Carolina, the N.C. State student section provided a loud atmosphere for the visiting Blue Devils. Duke is seeking its first road win against the Wolfpack since 2011.
- Depth continues to be a problem for the Blue Devils. In the first 20 minutes of play, Krzyzewski only utilized a seven-man rotation in the first half, with redshirt sophomore Sean Obi emerging with just more than a minute left after Marshall Plumlee picked up his second foul.
- If Duke continues to trail and drops another conference game when the final buzzer sounds, the team will fall below .500 in ACC play.
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