The 20th ranked Duke Blue Devils will travel to PNC Arena to take on the NC State Wolfpack this Saturday afternoon.
The 20th ranked Duke Blue Devils lost their 3rd straight game and dropped to 14-5 (3-3 ACC) on the season after being defeated by the Syracuse Orange, 64-62, this past Monday. The absence of Amile Jefferson once again hurt Duke in the post and the Blue Devils could not get the comeback win after being down 61-53 with just over four minutes to play. Duke shot 37.1% from the field and just 27.0% (10-37) from beyond the arc in the loss. The Blue Devils allowed the Orange to shoot 47.8% (11-23) from beyond the arc and was outrebounded by Syracuse by a 49-42 margin including letting Tyler Roberson of the Orange to grab 20 rebounds. Leading the way for Duke was Marshall Plumlee who had a double-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, and a steal. On the season, the Blue Devils have been led by Grayson Allen (20.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.6 APG), Brandon Ingram (16.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.6 BPG), and Amile Jefferson (10.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG). Offensively, Duke is averaging 85.6 PPG on 47.7% shooting from the field and 38.4% shooting from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils average 8.8 three-pointers per game and have an assist/turnover ratio of 1.37. Defensively, Duke is allowing their opponents to average 70.4 PPG on 42.9% shooting from the field. The Blue Devils average 5.5 blocks per game and have a turnover margin of 2.8.
The NC State Wolfpack snapped their five game losing streak and improved to 11-8 (1-5 ACC) on the season after defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers, 78-61, on the road this past Tuesday. In what was NC State’s most impressive victory of the season, the Wolfpack had little trouble hanging onto the win after getting a 44-19 lead at halftime. NC State shot 48.3% from the field and 50.0% (6-12) from beyond the arc in the victory. The Wolfpack held the Panthers to 36.7% shooting from the field and outrebounded Pittsburgh by a 46-30 margin. Leading the way for NC State was Anthony Barber who had 31 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal. On the season, the Wolfpack have been led by Anthony Barber (22.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.8 APG), Maverick Rowan (13.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG), and Abdul-Malik Abu (11.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.3 APG). Offensively, NC State is averaging 74.1 PPG on 41.5% shooting from the field and 32.3% shooting from beyond the arc. The Wolfpack average 5.7 three-pointers per game and have an assist/turnover ratio of 1.02. Defensively, NC State is allowing their opponents to average 69.9 PPG on 41.2% shooting. The Wolfpack have a rebound margin of 6.2 and a turnover margin of -0.2.
It’s not many times you’ll see Duke lose three straight games, but the loss of Amile Jefferson due to injury plus a lack of depth has caused some major problems for Duke. NC State got off to an awful start in conference play but should have some confidence after dominating a decent Pittsburgh team in their recent victory. NC State was able to knock of the Blue Devils last year at PNC Arena however, I think the Blue Devils will have no problems putting points up on the board in this one. I think that due to Duke’s recent struggles, this spread is a bit too low and as long as the Blue Devils can make sure Anthony Barber does not get into too much of a rhythm, Duke and Coach K can get back on track with a solid win. Therefore, I am leaving to the oddsmakers again and having Duke escape with a win.
