GREENSBORO, N.C.—In the first contest between the two squads, N.C. State's defense led to quality opportunities on the offensive end. Thursday, the Blue Devils are turning the tables.
No. 2 Duke leads N.C. State 49-22 at halftime in the ACC tournament quarterfinals at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Blue Devils have been led by freshman Justise Winslow with a team-high 11 points and have also received a combined 15 points from Marshall Plumlee and Grayson Allen off the bench.
Duke held the Wolfpack to 8-of-27 shooting from the field through 20 minutes of play, and the dynamic backcourt duo of Anthony "Cat" Barber and Trevor Lacey have combined for just two points after scoring 55 against Pittsburgh in the second round Wednesday.
With N.C. State's playmakers struggling, Duke has made it look easy on the offensive end. In some of the Blue Devils' blowout wins, they have gotten off to slow starts before pouring it on late. That has not been the case Thursday.
Winslow opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer on the game's first possession to give Duke an initial lead, one the Blue Devils would not give back. The Houston native entered the game averaging 12.4 points per game—good for third on the squad—but has been on a tear of late, with that number rising to 16.8 through the past five games.
Duke shot 58.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from behind the arc, even with two Blue Devils—Tyus Jones and Amile Jefferson—going scoreless. N.C. State has not had an answer for Winslow's athleticism, as Lennard Freeman and Ralston Turner have both failed to keep the swingman in front of them.
Turner finally got the Wolfpack on the board after three scoreless minutes when he knocked down a long trey. The LSU transfer was the only N.C. State player with the hot hand early, scoring 13 of N.C. State's 22 total points.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Quinn Cook guarded Trevor Lacey when the Blue Devils elected to go man-to-man. Lacey has not been able to find his stroke, as the redshirt junior is just 1-of-5 from the field.
- The Wolfpack allowed freshman Jahlil Okafor to get two easy buckets with Abdul-Malik Abu guarding him and brought in BeeJay Anya to counter. Anya, though, picked up three fouls before the seven-minute mark and was forced back to the bench.
- Barber scored 21 points in the first half of Wednesday's win against Pittsburgh but is scoreless against Duke through 20 minutes
- After watching Barber and Lacey terrorize the Panthers, Duke put some extended pressure on the Wolfpack with Tyus Jones and Cook not allowing the ball handler to make it up the court unencumbered.
- Allen and Plumlee—who played a combined seven minutes in the first contest—came in for the Blue Devils and gave them solid minutes during Winslow and Okafor's trip to the bench. The two combined for 15 points, eight of those coming on Plumlee dunks.
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