Sophomore guard Courtney Fells missed two dunk attempts in Saturday’s 79-56 loss to No. 14 Duke at the RBC Center, and on the second, he picked up a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
It was that kind of game for N.C. State.
“That was just indicative of the day,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “And that’s one of those things where you just kind of say, ‘Well, nothing’s going right today.'”
The Wolfpack would allow the Blue Devils seven dunks of their own in the game, and State found itself with a 16-point halftime deficit, thanks in large part to 16 first-half turnovers.
Duke freshman guard Jon Scheyer said disrupting the Pack’s offensive flow was a focus of the Blue Devils’ game plan.
“We definitely wanted to get out and pressure them. They’re a really big team, and when they get the ball inside, they can be really tough to guard,” Scheyer said. “So we wanted to get out and pressure their guards.”
Sophomore forward Ben McCauley said Duke was largely successful in that plan, but he also said his own team’s defensive struggles made players less patient on offense.
“We just saw that they were getting easy baskets, and we just tried to make the spectacular play and get a easy shot,” McCauley said. “But unfortunately we didn’t do it.”
Lowe echoed McCauley’s sentiments, saying his players sometimes went for style over substance.
“They [Duke] played their game,” Lowe said. “And I felt that we tried to do a little too much, tried to make big plays and a couple of fancy plays instead of just being solid with it.”
In the end, State’s lack of offensive execution and Duke’s easy baskets left the Pack with its fourth ACC loss.
Lowe said too many of his players had sub-par performances to come out on top against a team like the Blue Devils.
“Certainly, it can’t happen against a team like this because they’ll take advantage of it,” Lowe said.
Duke outscored State 40-18 in the paint, and redshirt freshman forward Brandon Costner said those points were devastating.
“They got a lot of easy baskets and those are killer. And our defensive intensity wasn’t there tonight,” Costner said. “And we need to pick that up next game.”
Lowe said he wasn’t too discouraged by missed shots, but rather when his players failed to come through in other areas.
“Guys inside, they missed a couple shots inside, missed some open looks outside — that doesn’t bother me,” Lowe said. “What bothers me is if you don’t play defense and you’re not in there battling and fighting.”
And after the 23-point defeat against the Blue Devils, Costner said the loss was more about his team’s shortcomings than its opponent’s strength.
“We made a lot of mistakes that we shouldn’t have made,” Costner said. “And I feel like we lost the game for ourselves more than they beat us.”
