As Duke men’s basketball looks to extend its win streak to 14 games against N.C. State, the Blue Devils trail the Wolfpack 37-33 with 20 minutes gone at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
Wolfpack thwarts Duke’s defense
After experimenting with a zone defense helped the Blue Devils overcome a six-point deficit in a 63-56 defeat of Wake Forest, head coach Jon Scheyer opted to revert back to the Blue Devils’ traditional man defense for the first half of Monday’s affair. Unlike the experiences of many Duke opponents this season, N.C. State’s offense found significant success in the early portion of the half.
It wasn’t a lack of effort that doomed the Blue Devils; the Wolfpack simply converted on multiple contested jump shots from both inside and outside the arc, including 5-of-7 threes to open the contest. By the midway point of the half, N.C. State led 23-12 thanks to the Wolfpack’s offensive assault, and ultimately finished the period with 37 points on 48.4% shooting and 58.3% from three.
Turnover troubles
After a season-high 16 turnovers against Wake Forest, including seven from Cooper Flagg and five from Kon Knueppel, Scheyer probably hoped his team would emphasize taking care of the ball this time around. Unfortunately for Duke, turnovers would once again plague the Blue Devils early on, contributing to the Wolfpack’s 11-point lead.
Duke’s opening possession stalled after Sion James lost the ball, and Flagg’s errant pass was intercepted just a minute later. Knueppel committed Duke’s third turnover at the 13-minute mark, and Patrick Ngongba II committed the fourth just two minutes later. The Wolfpack also struggled to take care of the basketball at times, finishing the half with seven turnovers which allowed the Blue Devils to cut into N.C. State’s lead.
Offensive inefficiencies
The Blue Devils missed 10 of their first of their 14 shots, including six of their first seven from 3-point range. The team’s offensive struggles mirrored those of the Wake Forest game, when Duke scored a season-low 63 points and shot just 28.1% from three. However, unlike the encounter with the Demon Deacons, the Blue Devil defense struggled to compensate for the squad’s offensive ineptitudes.
Flagg and Tyrese Proctor had particularly poor shooting displays in the half, with Flagg scoring just five points on 2-of-7 shooting and Proctor missing five of his six shots. The Sydney native’s struggles mirrored those he experienced against the Demon Deacons, where the dynamic guard scored just six points — though Proctor did swish a clutch three deep into the shot clock to essentially erase Wake Forest’s chances of an upset. Blue Devil fans will hope the junior pulls similar second-half heroics this time around.
Mid-half comeback
The Blue Devils trailed 23-12 at the 10-minute mark, prompting a timeout from a furious Scheyer. However, after the break, a pair of steals from James ignited a potent Blue Devil run, first after a swished three from Knueppel and then with a thunderous James slam which turned Cameron Indoor into a deafening frenzy.
However, the Wolfpack would not relent, nailing 3-pointer after 3-pointer. Senior guard Dontrez Styles particularly terrorized the Blue Devils, finishing the half with 13 points after nailing 3-of-4 threes. Styles finished the opening 20 minutes with 13 points, while senior guard Michael O’Connell also contributed nine points of his own.
Player of the half: Kon Knueppel
After hitting an early 3-pointer, Knueppel kick-started Duke’s comeback with a deadly-corner strike at the 10-minute mark. Then, four minutes later, Knueppel's third three cut the Wolfpack lead to four. The freshman’s ability to find open deep-range attempts continues to differentiate him from other elite shooters, as well as the Milwaukee native’s ability to impact every facet of the game. Knueppel collected five rebounds, including several key boards on the offensive end to give the Blue Devils several second-chance opportunities. Ultimately, the freshman finished with a team-high 11 points.
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Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.