Top 10 of the 2010s: No. 10, DSJ Does In Duke
Today is Dec. 22, 2019. There are exactly 10 days remaining in the decade of the 2010s.
In celebration of the occasion, SI Wolfpack Maven takes a look back at the past 10 years in NC State sports and counts down the top 10 moments of the decade -- one per day.
Today, it's No. 10: The Wolfpack's 84-82 upset of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 23, 2017.
It had been 27 years since State had won on the Blue Devils' home floor, but with Dennis Smith Jr. leading the way, coach Mark Gottfried's team ended that drought in dramatic fashion.
Duke was without coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was taking a leave of absence while recovering from back surgery, and his interim replacement Jeff Capel did the Wolfpack a favor by holding the trio of Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard and Amile Jefferson out of the starting lineup.
Even with the surprise move, the Blue Devils still led for most of the first 35 minutes. But Smith did his part to keep the Wolfpack close and with the game there for the taking, the star freshman point guard put the team on his back and took over during the decisive final stretch.
Smith had nine points and three assists during the final five minutes to put State over the top. He finished with 32 points for the game, going 10 of 18 from the floor and 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, to go along six assists.
It might not have been the best performance of his short (and as we learned later, troubled) Wolfpack career.-- he had pair of triple-doubles that season -- it was by far his most memorable. And the most memorable moment of that performance, like perhaps the win itself if the NCAA has its way, didn't count.
It came at the very end. After sealing the victory with steal that prevented Duke from getting a final shot off, Smith put an exclamation point on the victory with a massive fastbreak dunk that came just after the final buzzer sounded.
Check back tomorrow for moment No. 9 ...
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