With four losses in its last six games and coming off a heartbreaking 70-69 defeat at Wake Forest on Wednesday, N.C. State (11-6 overall, 1-3 ACC) will get no respite on Saturday.
The Wolfpack will make a trip to Durham to face its Triangle rivals Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
The Blue Devils (13-4 overall, 2-2 ACC) are ranked 16th by the Associated Press and 13th in the USA Today Coach’s Poll. Earlier in the week, Duke scrapped by Virginia at home, 69-65, after the Cavaliers rallied to from 13 points down in the second half to take the lead with 38 seconds remaining. Rasheed Suliamon connected on the three-pointer with 22 seconds left to play to propel the Devils to the win.
Heading into Saturday’s rivalry tilt, N.C. State will not only have to shrug off its recent play, but may have to do so without Tyler Lewis. The sophomore guard had flu-like symptoms and was unavailable during the second half against Wake Forest on Wednesday.
N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried held Lewis out of practice on Thursday and said he plans to do the same on Friday. If Lewis is not ready on Saturday, Gottfried feels he has enough at the point guard position to overcome.
“I am confident. If Tyler can’t play we will play [junior guard] Desmond [Lee] some at the point and [freshman guard Anthony] ‘Cat’ [Barber] will play a lot of minutes I am sure,” Gottfried said. “Part of our game is when guys are out injured or sick, you’ve got to overcome that.”
“I can only play five at one time,” Gottfried said. “I am going to put five out there and they are going to play hard no matter who we have got.”
One of the few bright spots on Wednesday for State was the improved play of redshirt-senior center Jordan Vandenberg. The Australian scored 10 points and hauled down seven rebounds despite being limited by foul trouble and playing only 28 minutes.
“I am probably going to end up on either [sophomore forward] Amile [Jefferson], (senior forward Josh) Hairston or even [redshirt-sophomore center Marshall] Plumlee,” Vandenberg said. “They ran a five-man sub the other night and that actually worked well for them. If they use their second-five, that a pretty big lineup. So we’ll have to take what we have an advantage in and hopefully play a good game on Saturday.”
Cameron Indoor Stadium is considered one of the most intimidating places in the nation to play. With four freshmen receiving significant playing time for the Pack, it could be a daunting task.
The Blue Devils also feature a talented squad with the likes of freshman forward, and projected lottery pick, Jabari Parker and redshirt sophomore Rodney Hood. The duo has been sensational this season for Duke and combined to average almost 37 points per game.
“They are not very big, but they are very skilled,” freshman forward BeeJay Anya said. “I played with Jabari on the under-15 national team. I know a lot about him and he is one of my good friends. It will be a test for us to defend him.”
This is the 238th matchup between the two schools, tying Duke with Wake Forest as the teams N.C. State has faced the most in its basketball history. The Blue Devils hold a 139-98 advantage in the series, including victories in 40 of the last 48 contests.
Recent history has not been on N.C. State’s side. The last time the Pack won in Durham was in 1995 while Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was on sabbatical to deal with a back injury. State last defeated a Coack K-led Duke team in Cameron during the 1987-88 season when the Wolfpack overcame a 13-point second half deficit to shock the Blue Devils, 77-74.
