Duke 88, State 69: Postgame Observations
Two weeks ago at PNC Arena, the NC State basketball team dominated Duke by making shots, playing tenacious defense, holding its own on the glass against the bigger Blue Devils and taking advantage of every opportunity to put its opponent away.
Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, almost exactly the opposite was the case.
The Wolfpack got off to a strong enough start, again jumping out as much as an eight-point lead after 10 minutes. Only this time it couldn't build on the early momentum.
Duke eventually regained its shooting touch and the confidence it had lost during a three-game losing streak. And after switching to a zone defense early in the second half, the Blue Devils were off and running to an 88-69 victory that was almost a mirror image of the Wolfpack's 88-66 triumph in the earlier meeting.
After that game, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyewski said that the hungrier team had won. On this night, that appeared to be the case again.
Here's a look at some of the key factors that led to Monday's loss and what it means for the 18-12 (9-10 ACC) Wolfpack moving forward:
◼ Missed opportunity: Duke left the door wide open for State to get off to a strong start by missing its first six field goal attempts and 12 of its first 13 shots while committing three early turnovers. But while that helped the Wolfpack to jump out an early 11-4 lead, it didn't take full advantage of the opportunity.
Every time it appeared as though State was on the verge of establishing control and opening up some separation, Duke would answer with a run to close the gap and get the crowd back into it.
And it wasn't the usual suspects that kept the Blue Devils close. While stars Vernon Carey, Cassius Stanley and Tre Jones combined to go just 4 of 20 in the first half, seldom used big man Justin Robinson and defensive specialist Jordan Goldwire came out of nowhere to pick up the slack. Robinson played more like his Hall of Famer David Robinson than a career bench warmer by scoring eight points, including two three-pointers while Goldwire added seven points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Duke also dominated the offensive glass -- as teams have done all season against State -- by scoring seven second-chance points on its 10 offensive rebounds and getting both Manny Bates and D.J. Funderburk into foul trouble.
The result was that despite what coach Kevin Keatts called "a great first half," State found itself down by two -- 38-36 after 20 minutes.
◼ Zoned out: State shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half (14 of 28) and was especially effective with point guard Markell Johnson coming off ball screens and either getting to the rim or dishing to teammates for open shots. He had nine points and four assists during the opening 20 minutes.
But after the Wolfpack got off to another strong start coming out of halftime, opening up a 44-40 lead with 17:24 remaning, Krzyzewski made an adjustment that changed the entire complexion of the game.
Switching to a zone defense and going to a smaller lineup with four perimeter players complenting big man Vernon Carey in the middle, the Blue Devils not only prevented the ball screens that had made Johnson so effective, but they were also able to rachet up the tempo and beat State back down the court for easy transition baskets.
To use one of Krzyzewski's favorite terms, Duke had more "verve" over the final 20 minutes.
It's not that the Wolfpack didn't attack the zone well. It did at times, getting open shots from the dead spot in the lane and from beyond the three-point line. The problem is, other than Jericole Hellems, it just didn't make enough of those open shots.
It then compounded that cold shooting by not getting back on defense, allowing Duke to turn the game into a track meet on the way to 25 fastbreak points -- including a couple of spectacular fastbreak dunks by Cassius Stanley, who led Duke with 18 points.
The Blue Devils (24-6, 14-5) shot a blistering 63 percent in the second half, going 17 of 27 mostly on layups and dunks. They only attempted three three-pointers in the second half.
"For us, we weren't knocking down shots and on the other end we were letting them get easy baskets," said Hellems, who tied Devon Daniels and C.J. Bryce for team-high scoring honors with 14 points. "In the second half, their transition was much better and we allowed them score in transition."
◼ Kicked in the glass: If you're looking for a reason to explain the 41-point swing from the first meeting of the Triangle rivals to the next, search no farther than the rebounding column in the two boxscores.
In Game 1 on Jan. 19 in Raleigh, State outrebounded Duke 51-43 and outscored its opponent 25-12 in second chance points. Monday in Durham, the roles were completely reversed. The Blue Devils dominated the glass overall to the tune of 46-27 and thanks to 16 offensive rebounds, outscored the Wolfpack on second chance points 15-8.
Some of that disparity can be traced to the fact that Bates, who was coming off his best college game and first double-double against Pittsburgh on Saturday, played only 11 minutes before fouling out. He finished with just two points, one rebound and one blocked shot.
Funderburk played 29 minutes and didn't get into further foul trouble after picking up his third early in the second half. But he was no match for Carey, a 6-foot-10, 270-pound future lottery pick who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
◼ What does it mean? The good news for the Wolfpack is that losing to a top 10 team on the road isn't the worst thing that can happen to its NCAA tournament chances -- especially since Duke breaking its three-game losing streak and finishing strong will prevent its earlier win against the Blue Devils from losing some of its luster.
The key now is to flush this one quickly and start getting ready to hold serve against Wake Forest in a game State absolutely has to win to have any shot at getting into the field of 68. While Keatts said that won't be easy for him, all focus has to be ahead not back at this point in the season.
A big question moving forward will be how badly Bryce was hurt late in the game when he took an apparent elbow to the face from Tre Jones as he tried to prevent a layup. The redshirt senior wing stayed down on the court for awhile and walked off with a towel pressed to his face. He was eventually taken to the locker room for observation.
Coach Kevin Keatts said afterward that he hoped the injury wasn't serious, but after having three players miss games with concussions this season -- including Bryce -- he's learned to be cautious. State can ill afford to lose anyone at this critical juncture of the season, with its postseason fate squarely on the bubble, but Bryce is high on the list of those it can afford to lose the least.
