An upset may be unlikely, but N.C. State's post players ensure that it is not impossible.
The big men on the Wolfpack basketball team will undoubtedly put up a fight tonight in Cameron. Both teams hold a record of 2-0 in the ACC, but this match-up will end one team's perfect conference mark. N.C. State, like Duke, has just come off another conference win, beating Florida State 58-53.
The Wolfpack's success this season is in large part due to the outstanding play of the team's interior players, namely Marcus Melvin, Ilian Evtimov and Levi Watkins. These players have shown tremendous presence not only in the paint, but from all over the court. Evtimov, who suffered a season-ending knee injury early last year, has become a strong and unlikely offensive leader.
"Most centers and big men don't have the ball at the top of the key looking to make plays," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "[Evtimov's] really a guy who makes everybody better out on the basketball court. He's a key link to them playing outstanding offense."
A multi-talented force from inside, Evtimov has 34 assists and has tallied 14 steals this season. The 6-foot-7 Bulgarian native will undoubtedly use his size and strength against Duke's big men as long as he can remain on the floor; Evtimov leads the team with 32 personal fouls and has fouled out once already.
Levi Watkins, N.C. State's sixth man, is perhaps the team's most improved player. He is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc and leads the team with 18 three-pointers. Like Evtimov, Watkins has also suffered from injury in the past few seasons. In 2001-2002, he tore his ACL in the Wolfpack's game against Maryland, which kept him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Last season, in another game against Maryland, he pulled his groin. The injury prohibited him from reaching his full potential until this season.
The most well-known of N.C. State's three big men is Marcus Melvin, who in his last four games has averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds. Shooting 44 percent from the field, Melvin has racked up the second most points this season with 150. Melvin leads the team in blocks with 12, but also has managed to collect 20 personal fouls.
Melvin's presence in the paint will be an extremely important factor for the Wolfpack. He consistently leads the team in rebounds so far this season. Melvin scored a Wolfpack-season-high 27 points, and recorded 13 rebounds in his double-double contest against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
While N.C. State boasts strength and depth in its big men, the Blue Devils have also started to come into their own in that aspect of the game. Shelden "The Landlord" Williams and Shavlik Randolph have become Duke's tag team in the paint. Provided both stay healthy and out of foul trouble, the Blue Devils have the physical strength and skill they need to handle N.C. State's paint-dwellers.
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