Gameday Preview: Duke vs NC State – Mon Jan 27th 2025

The Duke Blue Devils (17-2, 9-0 ACC) look to remain unbeaten in the ACC when they play host to cross town rival the NC State Wolfpack (9-10, 2-6 ACC). These ACC foes meet on two separate paths as the Blue Devils are riding the nations best 13 game win streak and the Wolfpack have lost 6 of their last 7 games.

The Wolfpack head to Durham after a 63-57 loss to the SMU Mustangs (15-5, 6-3 ACC) in Raleigh on Saturday. The Mustangs took a 34-26 lead into halftime and came out in the second half with 7 footer  Samet Yigitoglu making the first 4 buckets for SMU. The Wolfpack battled back from a 15 point second half deficit to make it a 3 point game after Marcus Hill’s jumper trimmed the score to 54-51. Ben Middlebrooks then drained two free throws to cut the Mustangs lead to 56-55 with 3:21 left to play. The Mustangs’ BJ Edwards responded with SMU’s lone 3 point make in the second half followed by 4 consecutive free throws by Yigitoglu sealed the victory for the Mustangs. The Wolfpack were led by Marcus Hill’s 14 points and Dontrez Styles 12.

The Blue Devils were pushed to the ropes Saturday afternoon against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (15-5, 7-2 ACC) in Winston Salem. The Blue Devils escaped a hostile Joel Coliseum with a 63-56 win led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg’s 24 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists. The Blue Devils went into the halftime break with a 35-22 lead with what felt like the game in hand.

The Deacs started the second half on a tear going on a 23-4 run to open the half and take a 45-39 lead on a Juke Harris jumper with 9:58 left in the game. The Blue Devils missed 13 straight shots to open the half, going 1-19 from the field over the first 12 minutes of the half. The Blue Devils came alive after the Juke Harris jumper, scoring on 7 consecutive possessions to take a 53-47 lead with 3:53 left in the game.

The Devils were aided by clutch threes down the stretch by Purdue transfer Mason Gillis and junior guard Tyrece Proctor. Fresh Kon Knueppel scored 15 points and pulled in 9 boards. Freshman Patrick Ngongba II played 21 minutes in relief of Khaman Maluach who was in foul trouble the majority of the game. The Deacons were led by Juke Harris’ 14 points and was joined in double figures by Hunter Salis with 12 points. Salis played the entire 40 minutes and center Efton Reid played 38.

Key Points:

Wolfpack

• Take advantage of the short turnaround. The Blue Devils battled for 40 minutes on the road and went deep into the bench. There is a chance they are tired and the Wolfpack can pounce early and make the Blue Devils battle back.
• Slow the game down. The Deacons controlled the pace Saturday and limited the Blue Devils scoring ability. If the Pack can make this a low scoring affair, they have a chance to pull the upset. 
• Throw Huntley-Hatfield and Middlebrooks at Maluach and get him into foul trouble. Make the inexperience Blue Devil big men play in the continued absence of Maliq Brown

Blue Devils

• Make this the Isiah Evans and Caleb Foster game. Both these guys have shown the ability to be explosive but have not found their opportunities in the last several games. The Blue Devils will need both to be reliable scoring options to make a deep run in March.
• Let the starters play with foul trouble. Make this a game where confidence builds by both the coaching staff and players to play with foul trouble. The Blue Devils should run away with this one so they will be able to lose a starter to fouls.
• Run sets for Patrick Ngongba when he gets minutes. He played valuable minutes Saturday with Maluach in foul trouble but did not produce offensively. If he can start scoring, the Blue Devils will have 3 legitimate options in the post come March.