After a disappointing loss at the hands of Virginia Tech on Wednesday night, N.C. State (12-10 overall, 2-6 ACC) will face conference leader Duke (20-2, 7-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. State fell to the Blue Devils on Jan. 19 by a score of 92-78 at the RBC Center in the first meeting between the two teams this season. This time, the Pack will travel down Tobacco Road to Durham to square off with conference leader Duke.
The Wolfpack’s defense did all it could to shut down the dynamic duo of senior’s Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, who finished with a combined 40 points in the last meeting. The Pack struggled early in the game with poor defense and was out rebounded 18-8 in the first half.
“I thought we dug ourselves a hole early by not getting rebounds,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “That really hurt us. You will give up some rebounds when you are not blocking out. I thought we gave up too many rebounds in the zone in the first half, that’s why we went back to the man-to-man.”
Freshman Ryan Harrow, who has emerged as the team’s starting point guard, has missed back-to-back conference games due to an illness, but the team hopes he recovers in time for Saturday’s showdown with Duke. In the absence of Harrow, who is averaging 11 points and 3.5 assists per game, fellow freshman Lorenzo Brown has been filling in quite nicely, finishing with a career-high 20 points against North Carolina last Saturday. But the offensively challenged Wolfpack will need Harrow, who scored 15 points last meeting, if the team hopes to keep pace with the top-ranked scoring offense in the ACC.
Playing a road game at Duke is unlike any other road game on the Pack’s schedule. Cameron Indoor Stadium, known for its rowdy atmosphere, is one of the most intimidating home court advantages in the nation thanks to its raucous student section that is close enough to touch opposing players. But sophomore Scott Wood said he actually enjoys playing on the road and gets motivated by fans heckling him.
“I’ve always liked playing on the road,” Wood said. “It’s one of those mental things. It’s fun when you got fans cussing you out and telling you that you suck and you’re as skinny as a rail. It’s just extra motivation. Hopefully we can win that one and my Steelers can win the Super Bowl, then my weekend’s perfect.”
State comes into the matchup having lost six of its last seven games, with the only win being a 2-point victory over Miami at home. The team knows that in order to have a chance at making the NCAA tournament, it will need to put together a strong showing over its final eight conference games as well as the ACC Tournament.
“Do we feel a little bit of pressure? Probably,” junior guard C.J. Williams said. “But we know that there’s still time. The window is a lot smaller now, but there’s still time. We can turn this thing around and get on a nice little run to make our run into the ACC Tournament.”
With eight games left in the regular season, the team needs to improve its performance during the home stretch. If the Pack can manage to play two solid halves against Duke, something it has struggled doing all season, it might just find the momentum it needs to turn things around during the second half of the conference schedule. Williams said the team has to start winning right now.
“That’s the ACC,” Williams said. “They say the ACC is down, but it’s still one of the toughest conferences in the country and we understand there will be tough road games. But we have to turn it around right now.”
After being selected to finish fourth in the ACC before the season began, Wolfpack fans have slowly seen hopes of making the NCAA tournament, and quite possibly the NIT, dwindle away as losses keep piling up. A road victory against No. 5 Duke would certainly put wind back in the sails of the young Wolfpack team as it looks to keep postseason hopes alive.
