Can NC State basketball upset Duke in ACC showdown? Here’s what Wolfpack needs to do
Kevin Keatts’ biggest win as N.C. State basketball coach came against Duke three years ago, when the Wolfpack smashed the Blue Devils 88-66 at PNC Arena.
Mike Krzyzewski was on the Duke bench that day — and not a happy guy.
The Wolfpack and Blue Devils face off Wednesday at PNC Arena in Jon Scheyer’s first year as Duke coach. After a loss at Clemson, the Pack will be looking for a bounce-back against the No. 16 Blue Devils, who are coming off an impressive home win over Florida State.
Despite falling to 1-3 in the ACC, the Pack believes it can build an NCAA tournament resume and could earn an important “Quadrant-1” win by beating Duke.
“It’s a major opportunity,” Wolfpack guard Casey Morsell said Tuesday. “It would be a major ‘quad’ win for us in this program and we need those. It’s a great opportunity to get back on track.”
Here’s what the Wolfpack needs to do:
Take good shots
Keatts has always given the green light offensively to Terquavion Smith, and the sophomore guard is more than happy to go with it. He’ll shoot any time, from anywhere.
The problem comes when Smith, the ACC’s third-leading scorer at 18.1 points a game, misses and misses and misses. That happened in the first half Friday in the 78-64 loss at Clemson.
In one sequence, Smith misfired from the top of the key, then turned his back to the play and slow-trotted down court. The Tigers quickly pushed the ball ahead and behind Smith for a fast-break dunk.
The Pack (11-4 overall) must have good shot selection against Duke and not allow its offensive miscues to affect its defensive intensity. No defensive trot backs.
Hit the 3
No one has drained more 3-pointers in the ACC than Smith, who has 45 this season and is fifth in 3-point percentage at 34.4%. But Morsell has been better at it.
Morsell has taken 88 shots from 3-point range and hit 42 for an ACC-best 47.7%. Smith has taken 43 more shots from the arc than his teammate.
Jack Clark and Jarkel Joiner are capable 3-point shooters but streaky. But Morsell with the 3 out of the corners has been money for the Wolfpack.
The Pack was 10-of-26 on 3-pointers in beating Louisville and likely needs something similar to that to beat Duke. The Wolfpack was 8-31 against the Tigers on a day when N.C. State shot a season-low 30.9% from the field.
No one ‘going off’
In a game in which both teams struggled at times to score, the Tigers’ Hunter Tyson worked over the Wolfpack. The 6-8 forward had 26 points — in the second half. He finished with 31, twice his average before Friday, and 15 rebounds to set a career high.
Keatts tried different man-to-man looks on Tyson. Nothing worked. Tyson hit inside and out and could not be slowed and was the difference in the game.
The Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 ACC) had a number of guys who can go off offensively and the Pack likely cannot overcome anyone with Tyson-type numbers.
“It’s about defense and finishing off possessions,” Morsell said, noting the Pack could not allow second and third shots off offensive boards.
The Blue Devils have held teams to 60.9 points a game and lead the ACC in 3-point defense (27.8%). They contest, they’re in your face.
Battle of the bigs
The Wolfpack has been limited since center Dusan Mahorcic went out with a knee injury, forcing D.J. Burns to play a lot of minutes. The Pack needs the big man in the game and out of foul trouble.
Burns picked up fourth foul early in the second half Friday after some banging with Clemson center PJ Hall. Burns was called for an offensive foul, drawing the ire of Keatts, who believed the 6-10, 245-pound Hall was staggered too easily, and was called for a technical foul.
Burns, limited to 19 minutes at Clemson, will get the Blue Devils’ attention and could match up with 7-footer Kyle Filipowski and 7-1 Dereck Lively II, the ACC preseason rookie of the year.
“They have a two-headed monster at the ‘5’ position,” Keatts said Tuesday.
Add in 6-10 Ryan Young, the transfer from Northwestern and a crafty type inside, and Keatts can only say “They’ve got great size.”
Rekindle the past
The Wolfpack has enjoyed – and earned – some big wins over Duke at PNC Arena, winning four of the past six games in Raleigh.
In February 2020, the Pack handed the Blue Devils, then ranked No. 6, the 22-point loss as three players finished with 20 or more points – Markell Johnson the leader with 28. It was a swarm-the-court kind of day.
Keatts is realistic about what his team will face in Duke this time.
“It’s a good team, they can get out in transition, they’re long, they’re athletic, they can defend you,” he said.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 5:40 AM.
