College Basketball
College Hoops Preview: #2 Duke vs North Carolina State
- Matchup: #2 Duke Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 ACC) vs North Carolina State Wolfpack (18-7, 6-6 ACC)
- Date: Feb. 16th, 2019
- Time: 6:00 p.m. (est)
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Durham, North Carolina
- Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Seating Capacity: 9,314
Home Sweet Home
The Blue Devils return home to Cameron Indoor after two of their biggest wins this season. Duke went on the road to take down Virginia and Louisville. Their win over Louisville will be talked about for years to come, as Duke trailed by 23 points with just under ten minutes to play.
Trap Game?
Duke’s matchup with NC State has trap game written all over it. The Wolfpack have had their struggles in ACC play, going just 6-6 thus far. They aren’t as good as people thought they were when they entered conference play. Duke also plays arch-rival North Carolina on the 20th, just four days after NC State. Could Duke get caught looking ahead to their rivalry game against the Tar Heels? If they do, NC State is a good enough team to catch them off guard.
The Starters
NC State
Point Guard – #11 Markell Johnson (10.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG)
Combo Guard – #10 Braxton Beverly (10.3 PPG and 2.8 APG)
Guard – #13 C.J. Bryce (12.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.3 SPG)
Guard – #2 Torin Dorn (13.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.0 SPG)
Forward – #33 Wyatt Walker (5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.0 BPG)
Duke
Point Guard – #3 Tre Jones (8.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.4 APG, and 2.0 SPG)
Shooting Guard – #2 Cam Reddish (14.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 2.0 SPG)
Small Forward – #5 RJ Barrett (22.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.0 SPG)
Power Forward – #1 Zion Williamson (22.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.2 SPG, and 2.0 BPG)
Center – #20 Marques Bolden (5.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.9 BPG)
NC State Team Stats
On offense, NC State has scored just 70.4 points per game. The Wolfpack have shot it at 47.1% from the field and 36.7% from the three-point line.
On defense, opponents have been able to score 69.5 points per game against the Wolfpack while shooting 43.6% from the field and a very poor 29.9% from the three-point line.
Prediction
The Wolfpack don’t have anywhere near the talent of Duke. In almost every important statistical category, Duke is projected to stomp NC State. Yes, stats don’t always dictate the outcome of a game, but I believe they will in this one. Duke is coming off of emotional wins over UVA and Louisville, but these freshmen are built differently. Pencil in the four freshmen for a big day with defensive contributions from Jack White and the Louisville comeback hero Jordan Goldwire. Duke in a blowout.
Duke: 91
NC State: 70
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Photo Credit
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