No. 11 Duke is exiting the ACC Tournament without a win for the first time since 2013. Playing in its third game in three days, NC State surprised the Blue Devils, winning 74-69, to end the Blue Devils’ three-day stay in the nation’s capital.
In the semifinals on Friday, the victor of Virginia vs. Boston College will take on No. 10 seed NC State. Duke, the number two seed, will have an unusually extended wait until Selection Sunday before returning home.
The Wolfpack had a lead of up to 11 points and by 10 points in the closing minutes, but a string of mistakes, including three straight missed free throws and a dunk that resulted in a technical foul, allowed Duke to close the gap to two points. DJ Horne eventually ran out of rallies at that point, and following his makes, Duke walked up to the free-throw line.
Although Duke only hit five of their twenty 3-point attempts, NC State made seven of their sixteen attempts, but their 18-8 advantage in second-chance points was the primary difference. The Wolfpack responded to every Duke surge in the second half, accounting for 13 of those 18. For the first time since 2013, Kyle Filipowski’s 28 points and 14 rebounds led the Blue Devils to an ACC Tournament elimination game.
The Blue Devils’ offensive woes continued as they missed their first nine field goal attempts, particularly while trying to score from beyond the area. NC State had an early lead of up to eleven points, but Filipowski’s 12 first-half points kept Duke in the game. With a strong run at the first-half buzzer, Horne matched Filipowski’s point total with 12 points, giving the Wolfpack a 37-34 advantage.
Any expectation that NC State’s 6-0 run out of the break would ignite the Blue Devils’ attack soon evaporated, as the team’s advantage grew to nine points.
Nevertheless, Filipowski persisted, and Tyrese Proctor’s layup reduced the advantage to two. NC State remained unfazed. In response, Casey Morsell made a and-one to increase the advantage to five points right away. The Wolfpack thereafter seemed to counter every Duke run with a basket, a crucial rebound, or a defensive stop. Following Morsell’s basket and free throw, NC State used second-chance chances to score 11 of its next 13 points, increasing the lead to 10 at one point.Before things got crazy in the end, NC State had a multi-possession lead and seemed to be home free as the teams traded blows.
After Filipowski tied the score at five, Ben Middlebrooks of NC State scored a huge basket and was called for an administrative technical foul in the process. Jared McCain’s free throw and another low basket by Filipowski brought Duke back to within two as NC State missed three in a row. However, a miraculous resurgence was not planned.
With 15 seconds remaining, Horne, who had been a constant all night, made two free throws to extend the margin to four points, and Duke was unable to go any closer.
Duke’s bench and backcourt need to improve.
Two numbers from Duke’s defeat jump out: 23 points on 7 of 28 (25%) shots is the first. These were the combined stats of Proctor, McCain, and Jeremy Roach, the starting backcourt for Duke. Zero is the second number. That’s how many points Duke’s bench managed to score.
Both the absence of backcourt output and one of its players’ looks were concerning. After colliding with teammate Jaylen Blakes during warm-ups and requiring stitches, Jared McCain was forced to play with a bandage right above his eye.
“Jon Scheyer said without a doubt that Jarred wasn’t himself. “Jared will claim that his lack of justifications makes him okay. His pop wasn’t as strong as it usually is.”
Scheyer still expected his guards to make up the difference. It never took place.
Scheyer declared, “We need them to be better.” We depend greatly on them to take care of us. It’s not about the points. It’s all of the rest. It’s the composure. It is the bouncing back. It is the watching. What goes along with that is everything else. Every game, we need it.”
In 19 minutes of action, Duke’s bench managed only four efforts at scoring.
It’s not over for the Blue Devils.
Despite the disappointment of the defeat, Filipowski was excellent. 18 points were also contributed by Mark Mitchell, who made two 3-pointers. When the season began, he had only made nine.
Duke’s starting frontcourt — both veterans — indicated they’d have words for their teammates.
“Just knowing that there’s not many opportunities left and you’ve got to make the most of them,” he said. “Just really got to embrace it, be all in with each other.”
Mitchell had a similar line of reasoning.
“I would just tell the guys just to cherish the moments,” he stated. Not in a sentimental sense, of course. But whenever we get to play on the court, let’s simply be grateful for it. If we take that action, I believe we’ll go all in. This season, as a team, I believe we’ve simply taken things for granted at times. I recall how abruptly last year ended. Given how abrupt it was, it was obvious that it was a different route. I believe we can do something exceptional if we just make the most of what we have every day and continue to succeed every day moving ahead.
NC State creates history.
When the conference’s best teams enter the floor on Tuesday of championship week, it may be considered a bit of a drag, like an appetizer.
This year, not so much. After playing their first round on Tuesday, the Wolfpack became the first team in the history of the ACC Tournament to advance to Friday. On Tuesday, NC State fell down Louisville by double digits but came back to win 94-85. The Wolfpack defeated Syracuse 83-65 on Wednesday, showing no symptoms of exhaustion. Despite a few tense moments late on Thursday, they managed to secure their finest victory of the year.
Kevin Keatts said, “Obviously we’re prepared for this.” “I would say this: A lot of people, we talk about our conditioning and how it pays off for us, and when you look at those three games that we played, honestly, we’ve looked like the more fresh team than anybody.”
Since 2007, NC State has not triumphed in three games in one ACC Tournament.
Second-chance points are dominated by Wolfpack.
Ten days ago, Duke defeated NC State 79-64 on the road. a significant factor? The Blue Devils had a 22–14 lead in second-chance points. NC State turned the tide of the match on Thursday, winning 18–8.
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