One of the reasons Duke is the highest-ranked team in the ACC (No. 7 in The Associated Press' poll) is that its guards are considered to be among the best in the nation.
But full-court pressure by N.C. State seemed to rattle the Blue Devils in the first half. The Blue Devils committed nine first-half turnovers.
Senior forward Dennis Horner of N.C. State recovered quickly after a shaky start.
He missed badly on a layup and two 3-point attempts in the first three minutes.
Horner was replaced by Richard Howell soon afterward but returned to score 10 points by halftime.
A wrist injury suffered by Duke's Kyle Singler on Sunday against Wake Forest didn't keep him out of the lineup.
Wearing a soft brace on his right wrist, Singler was in his familiar place in the starting lineup. For the third straight game, he took the ball to the basket on the Blue Devils' opening possession. This time, he was fouled and made two free throws.
As part of the celebration of 100 years of N.C. State basketball, Tom Burleson and Vic Molodet were honored at halftime.
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N.C. State needed some ninth-inning dramatics to win its opener over Miami 3-2 in the ACC Championship in Greensboro. 
Green Hope started to talk about championship aspirations before the year. After a 3-0 win at Hoggard, the Falcons will have the chance to win it all Saturday against Charlotte Hough. 
The Devils turned a stellar first nine minutes and an opportunistic final five into a stirring victory over the Rangers that moved New Jersey within one win of a trip to the Stanley Cup finals. 
The buzz at the start was for Allen Iverson's ceremonial return. 
As Carolina’s long list of one-time forward prospects fail to make an impact in the NHL, it’s time to reassess the Hurricanes’ draft performance compared to the rest of the NHL. 
Mike Voight, the second-leading rusher in North Carolina history and a two-time ACC Player of the Year, has died. 
He travels back and forth to Stanford to earn his degree while participating in offseason workouts Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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