The 20th-ranked Blue Devils snapped their three-game losing streak Saturday with an 88-78 win on the road against N.C. State. Duke got big games from its two biggest stars as freshman Brandon Ingram and sophomore Grayson Allen combined for 53 points in the win. The Blue Devils will have little time to rest as they next take the court Monday against No. 15 Miami.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Contain Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber: Barber—the leading scorer the ACC—maintained his effectiveness against Duke, but his impact was largely neutralized in the second half. The junior scored just five of his 19 points after halftime and appeared to be limited by an ankle injury. Barber’s performance from the 3-point line in the first half—where he hit a pair of triples—paced N.C. State’s hot start and led them to a halftime lead. Although Barber still led the Wolfpack in scoring, he was slowed enough to where the defense could key in on other shooters and prevent him from single-handedly taking over the game.
- Get out on the break: After disappointing on the defensive end for most of conference play, Duke was able to turn defense into offense almost instantly against N.C. State. The Blue Devils had 13 points off of turnovers, 11 of which came in the first half to keep Duke afloat during the Wolfpack's hot start from the floor. The number of players able to successfully run the break was also encouraging for Duke as Ingram and Derryck Thornton both showed proficiency pushing the tempo on offense, especially in the second half.
- Keep Plumlee hot: Marshall Plumlee was every bit the physical presence near the rim the Blue Devils needed on offense, scoring with an arsenal of baseline flushes and layups from the restricted area. Plumlee finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, a steal and one emphatic block towards the end of the game to help lead the team to victory.
Three key plays
- 13:32 remaining, first half: In his first minutes on the court, Thornton used his quickness to swipe in on Barber and took the ensuing steal all the way to the other end to give Duke its largest lead of the first half at seven.
- 15:08 remaining, second half: After Ingram and freshman Luke Kennard hit key 3-pointers to claw Duke back into the game after being down seven, Thornton once again hit a big shot to spark the offense for the Blue Devils. After holding the ball at the top of the key, Ingram found Thornton with a quick pass that the point guard turned into another triple and gave Duke its first lead of the second half.
- 6:44 remaining, second half: To effectively put the game on ice, Duke leaned on its superstar Allen to finish off its in-state rival. With the shot clock under five, Allen took the inbound pass and sprinted to the hoop to finish off a tough layup with no time on the shot clock between three defenders. Allen's finish put the Blue Devil lead at 12 and helped put the game away in the final minutes.
Three key stats
- Duke shoots 14-of-18 from the foul line: After struggling from the charity stripe against Notre Dame and Syracuse, Duke put together a consistent performance from the charity stripe and knocked down all but one foul shot in the last four minutes to end any chance of a Wolfpack comeback.
- 71 percent shooting in the second half: After struggling to shoot in the first half—especially with a dreadful 22 percent performance from downtown—Duke caught fire and found its offensive flow with 17-of-24 shooting from the field and a 7-of-11 performance from beyond the arc.
- N.C. State misses 10 of its last 12 shots from deep: After making tough, contested threes that propelled the team to a seven-point lead, Duke's defense tightened in the final 20 minutes and suddenly the tables turned. With Barber limping, the Wolfpack could no longer convert on well-defended shots from behind the line, and with the momentum gone, Duke turned bad shots into offensive opportunities on the other end.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Grayson Allen
Allen buoyed the Blue Devils for long stretches of the game, leading all scorers with 28 points as well as seven assists and seven rebounds. The sophomore found a way to make magic happen even when the rest of the offense struggled, from difficult layups between multiple defenders to shot fakes that turned into assisted 3-point shots that propelled Duke to victory. The Jacksonville, Fla., native went toe-to-toe with his competition for the ACC scoring title and emerged victorious.
And the N.C. State game ball goes to…. Anthony Barber
At the start of the game, Barber was everywhere, dominating the Blue Devil defense and lighting up the scoreboard with an array of tough shots. The leading scorer hit daggers with little time left on the shot clock and made his speed felt on both ends of the floor as the Wolfpack raced out to a 10 point lead. Barber’s 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting was enough to propel N.C. State to a great start, but his zero free-throw attempts and just one assist, along with two turnovers, proved to be too little for the Wolfpack to pull off the upset.
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