No. 14 Duke misses first 13 shots, gets blown out on road by North Carolina State
RALEIGH, N.C. ― Jon Scheyer’s first season as Duke basketball coach hit its lowest point so far on Wednesday night.
The No. 14 Blue Devils failed to score in the opening eight minutes of the first half and never recovered during an 84-60 blowout loss at the hands of North Carolina State as the Wolfpack boosted its NCAA Tournament resume with an impressive top 25 victory.
NC State’s largest margin of victory over Duke was by 27 points on Jan. 12, 1972.
Duke (11-4, 2-2 ACC) drops to 0-2 on the road in the ACC after an 81-70 loss to Wake Forest on Dec. 20. The win moves NC State to 3-1 against the Blue Devils at PNC Arena under coach Kevin Keatts.
Duke will play four of its next six games on the road, starting with Saturday’s matchup at Boston College.
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Sophomore Terquavion Smith led the Wolfpack (12-5, 2-3 ACC) with 24 points as NC State built a 22-point halftime lead and never looked back during an ugly performance from Duke on both ends of the court.
Jeremy Roach finished 0-for-8 from the floor and was kept out for most of the second half while big man Dereck Lively failed to produce any offense as a starter. Ryan Young, Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Filipowski all scored in double figures, but the Blue Devils were outplayed in every aspect despite finding some offensive rhythm in the second half.
The first half, though, was something out of a nightmare for the Blue Devils. One from which they could not wake.
Duke missed its first 13 shots, committed 13 turnovers and went nearly eight minutes before Mark Mitchell’s put-back dunk made the score 15-2.