RALEIGH—Mark Gottfried wanted Brandon Ingram to play for the Wolfpack. Grayson Allen too.
Instead, the N.C. State head coach had to admire their work from the opposite bench, as Ingram and Allen combined for 53 points as No. 20 Duke handed the Wolfpack an 88-78 setback Saturday at PNC Arena.
Allen scored 10 of Duke's first 14 points and closed the game with six of the final 10 Blue Devil points, and Ingram controlled the middle of the game, scoring 10 straight points spanning the two halves as Duke came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to snap a three-game skid.
“Yes, absolutely, without a doubt," Gottfried said postgame when asked if Ingram looked like the player he expected while on the recruiting trail. "Brandon Ingram and Grayson Allen—we recruited both of them—they were just terrific today. You’ve got to give those two guys credit. I think they’re both going to have great futures."
Gottfried then took his praise for Ingram to another level.
"We played against Ben Simmons this year from LSU," Gottfried said. "We played against Brandon Ingram. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his name called first this year. He’s that good. And he was good today, especially in the second half.”
When the Wolfpack beat the Tigers 83-72 in overtime in Brooklyn, N.Y., as part of the Legends Classic in late November, Simmons had one of his quietest scoring games of the year. The No. 1 recruit in this year's class battled foul trouble and scored just four points, but still left his fingerprints all over the game, chipping in 14 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and three blocks.
The Tigers are looking to be a bubble team by the time the NCAA tournament rolls around in a few months. Duke's ticket is not yet punched, but Ingram and Simmons are likely to be among the top candidates vying for attentio by the time the calendar flips to June for the NBA draft.
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