Devon Daniels had 14 of NC State’s first 20 points. A by-the-numbers look at the win over Duke.
N.C. State led Duke from start to finish Wednesday night and knocked off the No. 6 Blue Devils, 88-66, in front of a fired up crowd at PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack (17-9, 8-7 ACC) needed a Q1 win to boost their NCAA resume, especially after falling to Boston College this past Sunday. In its best start of the season, N.C. State got an early 10-2 lead on the Blue Devils (22-4, 12-3) and never looked back.
“We beat a very good Duke team tonight,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts told the media after the game. “I thought our guys stepped up completely for the challenge. We had some guys who played really great defense, and guys played in different segments. I thought Devon Daniels really carried us in the first half.”
The Wolfpack snapped the Blue Devils’ seven-game winning streak and defeated Duke at PNC Arena for the third time in the last four matchups there between the two teams.
“Tonight we were not competitive,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told the media after the game. “They made us look bad, too. They played great.”
Daniels, a 6-5, 209-pound redshirt junior guard, finished with 25 points, 18 of which were in the first half. It was his seventh straight game in double figures. Senior guard Markell Johnson led N.C. State with a career-high 28 points.
“We talked about the last couple of days what a great opportunity this would be,” Keatts said. ‘We stepped up for the challenge.”
NC State vs. Duke: By the numbers
22: N.C. State’s 22-point win over Duke was the sixth time in school history the Wolfpack beat a ranked opponent by 20 points or more. The last time it happened was 2018 in a 20-point win over Florida State, which was ranked No. 25 at the time. Before Wednesday, the Wolfpack’s largest margin of victory at home versus a ranked Blue Devils team was a 14-point win in 2010.
33: Wednesday night was the 33rd time N.C. State beat a Duke team ranked in the top 25. The 22-point margin was the most the Wolfpack has beaten the Blue Devils by while Duke was ranked. State’s largest margin of victory in any game over Duke was a 33-point win during the 1947-48 season.
0-6: N.C. State held Duke without a field goal for almost five minutes to start the game. The Blue Devils started out 0-6 from the field and didn’t get their first field goal until Duke freshman forward Wendell Moore Jr. made a layup with 15:39 showing on the clock.
33: Daniels and Johnson were unstoppable in the first half and combined for 33 of N.C. State’s first 44 points. Johnson also nailed a three from halfcourt as the buzzer sounded to end the first half.
14: Daniels was aggressive from the start and scored 14 of the Wolfpack’s first 20 points. N.C. State led 20-11 at the 9:59 mark, as Daniels outscored the Blue Devils by himself.
“For me, every game I’ve just been trying to play as hard as I can on both sides of the ball,” Daniels told the media after the game. “Just bringing energy on offense and defense, I think that helps me a lot.”
9-4: The Wolfpack is 9-4 when they force their opponents into committing more turnovers than assists. Duke turned the ball over 13 times against N.C. State and only had six assists.
61.5: N.C. State shot a season-high 61.5 percent (8-13) from three against Duke. The Wolfpack improved to 12-3 when shooting 30 percent or better from behind the line. N.C. State is now 11-2 when opponents shoot below 30 percent from three. Duke shot 23.5 percent.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Devon Daniels had 14 of NC State’s first 20 points. A by-the-numbers look at the win over Duke.."
