For the opening weeks of the season, the N.C. State men's basketball team has not been seen around Raleigh. The Wolfpack has been living the good life in Cupcake City, but all that may change Saturday night.
N.C. State (5-1) is packing up the bus and heading to nearby Durham for a date with No. 4 Duke (6-1) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m.
"We're ready to get it started. N.C. State, they're a good team, so they're going to come out pretty hard," Chris Carrawell said. "They haven't really played anybody, so I know they are looking forward to coming in and playing us."
To say that the Wolfpack is a young team this season would be quite an understatement. It starts one junior, three sophomores and one freshman and has no seniors on the squad at all.
These young players have had success early, but they have yet to play a team the caliber of Duke. Wins over teams such as Maryland-Eastern Shore and Charleston Southern have N.C. State sitting near the top of the conference in most offensive categories.
The Wolfpack check in at first in the ACC in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage, and it is near the top in points per game with 84.2
This high-scoring offense is quite a change for the Wolfpack, which has averaged just 59 points in its last three trips to Durham. It is likely, however, that N.C. State will not want to get into a shootout with the Blue Devils, who have broken 90 points in five of their first seven contests.
While the Wolfpack enter the game coming off a blowout 94-33 win over Army, Duke is coming off a tough win in Chicago versus No. 9 Michigan State in the Great Eight.
A key factor in tomorrow night's game, as evidenced by Duke's last win, could be rebounding. The Blue Devils were destroyed on the glass by the Spartans, 41-25. In the ball control offense N.C. State usually utilizes, it will be important for Duke to allow few second-chance opportunities.
On the other side, the Wolfpack has a tall front line, with Ron Kelly at 6-foot 10 and both Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge at 6-8. These three have helped their team outrebound opponents by an average of 15 rebounds a game this season.
One of the most interesting matchups the game will provide is between Wolfpack veteran point guard Justin Gainey and Will Avery. Gainey, in his third year running the point, is the leader on the team and is contributing 3.7 assists a night.
Avery is in his first season as starting point guard but has handled the job very well thus far, averaging 16.1 points per game. His ability to drive to the hoop, shoot the jumper or pass to the open man could cause major problems for the N.C. State defense.
An unknown factor for the Wolfpack is freshman Adam Harrington. He is averaging 13.3 points per game and has hit 14 of 28 from behind the arc. Harrington is the Wolfpack's best threat from three-point range.
Thornton, Inge and Kelley however, could be the keys to Wolfpack success. They will have the job of containing Elton Brand and controlling the boards. Inge showed last season he had tremendous talent, and Thornton is finally healthy and ready for conference play. Kelley leads the team in scoring with 15 points per game.
Duke is also more than ready for its first conference game before the home crowd this season. It has won its last two conference home openers, including last year's 103-59 victory over Virginia.
"I'm really excited," Chris Burgess said. "I remember last year's ACC opener was awesome."
The Wolfpack has lost seven of its last eight against the Blue Devils, so it sees this as a perfect opportunity to turn things around and put itself into the national picture. Duke hopes to continue its winning ways against State and get a solid start in its quest for a third straight ACC title.
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