Just over two weeks ago, NC State shocked the college basketball world as a double-digit underdog, defeating Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament to win its third game in three days and maintain its improbably lively season. The Wolfpack won’t be as big an underdog this time around against the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight, but a win will continue what has been one of the hottest and most unanticipated runs in tournament history.
The Wolfpack took a 9-7 lead before the first media timeout in their Sweet 16 game Friday night and never looked back, comfortably defeating No. 2 seed Marquette 67-58. It was an impressive defensive performance, holding a versatile Golden Eagle offense to an adjusted offensive rating of 86.8, its worst outing of the season, according to BartTorvik.com. It was also the seventh straight game with shooting below 35 percent from 3-point range. Opponents have shot 28.8 percent from distance over the last eight games, compared to 35.2 percent before the streak.
Duke, for its part, is looking to show that the ACC Tournament result was less telling than the 15-point road win over the Wolfpack on March 4. The Blue Devils’ defense has been dominant in the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by stifling a Houston team. who lost their leader in Jamal Shead in the first half to injury. Duke hasn’t allowed any tournament opponent to shoot an effective completion percentage higher than 43.3 and has posted three straight adjusted defensive ratings lower than 86, having done so only three other times this season.
On the offensive end, Duke has gotten timely contributions from a number of players over its first three games, with Kyle Filipowski scoring 16 points against Houston, Jared McCain 30 against James Madison and Mark Mitchell 15 against Vermont . Filipowski led the Blue Devils in their last meeting with the Wolfpack, while Jeremy Roach led Duke with 21 points in their first meeting. That is to say, Duke’s top-10 ranked offense is varied in approach and contributions.
With a win, NC State would reach its first Final Four since 1983 and have bragging rights for years to come. Duke is looking to give coach Jon Scheyer his first Final Four appearance in just his second season at the helm.
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