Duke has its final home game against N.C. State Tuesday night. The Blue Zone looks back on the two teams' previous matchup and previews the upcoming game:
Then
Slow start, no start
While both the Blue Devils and the Wolfpack struggled in the opening minutes, it was N.C. State who broke through first as Greg Gantt capitalized on Duke captain Jeremy Roach’s turnover, making the fast-break layup. It took more than seven minutes for the Blue Devils to get on the board — they missed their first 12 attempts from the field, putting themselves at an almost-immediate 15-point deficit when their offense was able to get started.
21
A then-season-high that it would eclipse just a few weeks later. Duke gave the ball up 21 times that fateful night in Raleigh. N.C. State made the most of the Blue Devils’ slip-ups, tallying 30 points off of Duke giveaways: half the Blue Devils’ own point total. Turnovers have been a recurring issue for Duke, especially on its road trips — the extra possessions were too much for its typically stellar defense, and the offense was unable to keep up.
A sign of what’s to come
The loss to the Wolfpack was the Blue Devils’ second dropped conference game. They would fall again 10 days later at Clemson, nine days after that at Virginia Tech, two weeks later at Miami and five more days past that at Virginia. Those miscues in Raleigh — excess turnovers and poor offensive efficiency — persisted and defined much of the Blue Devils’ conference slate.
Now
Success streak
Since its disastrous early February road trip to Florida and controversial finish at Virginia, Duke has cleaned up its act. The Blue Devils have won four-straight, even dominating Syracuse in the JMA Wireless Dome. Their assist-to-turnover ratio through that four-game stretch is more than two and they have topped 75 points in each of their last three games. The Duke team that walked into PNC Arena Jan. 4 is a completely different one than will be defending its home court Tuesday night.
Aged overnight
The Blue Devils are defined by their youth. The talent bursting out of their roster is one of their greatest advantages, but early in the season and in big games it has proved to be their downfall. The young Duke team, however, now has 29 games under its belt, including 14 additional ACC matches since the Blue Devils’ and Wolfpack’s first meeting. For freshmen, that experience is crucial. Dereck Lively II, who only scored one point through 13 minutes on the court Jan. 4, has emerged as an invaluable defensive asset and potential offensive weapon. Tyrese Proctor has leaned into point guard responsibilities. Mark Mitchell is much improved all-around and more confident than he was two weeks ago, let alone two months. While Duke shouldn’t forget that devastating first outcome, it shouldn’t feel bound by it.
Postseason push
Though the Blue Devils are taking it one day and one game at a time, March is nearly here, and with it comes the postseason. Duke only has its N.C. State game and season finale at North Carolina before the ACC tournament. With seeding unsettled and questions swirling about the Blue Devils’ floor and ceiling, this is Duke’s penultimate chance to play without elimination on the line.
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Rachael Kaplan is a Trinity senior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.