The Tobacco Road rivalry starts up again tonight as the Pack takes on the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils at the RBC center. This game will mark the third straight game in which the Pack takes on a ranked ACC opponent. The team will look to reverse the past seasons’ trend against Duke, as the Devils have won 28 of the last 32 games.
Only halfway through the season, the Pack has already experienced its share of heartbreaking losses, including the last-second wins by both Florida and Arizona. But the team continues to play in high spirits even after hard, emotional losses, such as the loss to then No. 24 Clemson after a 21-point comeback from a first half deficit, which showed that the team could compete against anyone in the ACC.
‘They find a way to get back,’ coach Sidney Lowe said. ‘It shows that they are together, they believe in each other, they understand that we needed to do one more thing better in that ball game and maybe we could have won that game.
With losses like the ones seen in the Florida and Clemson games where State had come back from a large point deficit falling just short, State is going to need to go into its next game coming out just as strong as they finish.
‘If we come out early with the same energy that we played with when we were coming back then we will be fine, that’s that growing process and understanding how you have to come out and play the game,’ Lowe said. ‘You don’t wait to get behind to really work, you don’t wait to get behind to get aggressive. It’s something we have to get better at.
‘The unfortunate part is that just about every other team in our conference is like that. They play that way, they come out that way. We need to play that way, we need to get tougher and get a little more swagger to us.’
With high shooting percentages, top offensive players, senior guard Jon Scheyer, junior guard Nolan Smith, and junior forward Kyle Singler, continually lead Duke in field goal points and behind the free throw line. All three players are averaging over 15 points per game and help lead a Blue Devil attack that is first in the ACC in points per game.
‘Those guys are the heart and soul of the team,’ Lowe said. ‘They go hard and they don’t make a lot of mistakes.’
Duke’s strong back court will challenge the Pack, forcing them to come out strong and continue to play strong, with little room for error.
‘Going into any ACC game we all know it’s going to be tough,’ sophomore guard Julius Mays said. ‘It’s not going to be an easy task, but in order to stay in the game we have got to get stops in, defend and keep the team down to a low shooting percentage.’
After Sunday’s game against Wake Forest, Duke’s sophomore Miles Plumlee and freshman Mason Plumlee proved to be a duo that the Pack must be weary of. Miles Plumlee hit a career-high 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Mason chipped in with an 11-point game, helping to bring Duke to a 90-70 win over Wake Forest. Duke’s front court and its depth from the bench are challenges the Pack will have to face all game long.
‘We have got to focus,’ junior forward Tracy Smith said. ‘From the first time we step on the field everyone has to focus, even on the bench. We have to be ready, we have to listen and we have to know all our assignments. We have got to know who we are guarding. We have to be mentally prepared, and can’t come out thinking about anything but the game.’
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