Last call coming for NC State after loss at Duke
Mike Krzyzewski had some solid universal advice after Duke’s 88-69 win over N.C. State on Monday night.
He mentioned Duke has won some close games this season (against Florida State and North Carolina) and lost some (most recently to Wake Forest and Virginia).
“What happens, at times, people overreact,” Krzyzewski said. “They overreact and everything is wrong, whereas, if you win by one-possession — everything was right. It’s neither one.”
It would be difficult for N.C. State to overreact to Monday’s loss. The Wolfpack (18-12, 9-10) has one win over Duke but couldn’t complete a rare regular-season sweep of the Blue Devils. This century only Gary Williams (the former Maryland coach did it twice) and Roy Williams (the current UNC coach has done it three times) have pulled that trick.
It’s not easy to beat Krzyzewski twice in the same season. N.C. State hasn’t swept the regular-season from Duke since 1994-95, when Krzyzewski was out with a back injury. So a loss on Monday wasn’t exactly unexpected (Duke was a 12-point favorite), especially after N.C. State beat Duke by 22 points 12 days ago in Raleigh.
But what Monday was for N.C. State the equivalent of a “last call.” This loss doesn’t fundamentally change the Wolfpack’s NCAA tournament hopes. A loss in either of the next two games, though?
Not a good idea.
Repeating the way it played in the second half on Monday? Not smart, either.
N.C. State shot 37.5 percent (12 of 32) in the second half after it shot 50 percent (14 of 28) in the first. Duke had a decisive rebounding advantage in both halves but picked up its shooting (63 percent) in the second half.
Krzyzewski mentioned in his press conference that he watched some of the 1988 matchup between the two schools on one of the ESPN channels earlier in the day. That’s actually the last time the Blue Devils, with Krzyzewski on the bench, lost to the Wolfpack at Cameron Indoor Stadium (he missed the losses in 1995 and 2017).
“How young we both were,” Krzyzewski said was his reaction to seeing himself and former N.C. State coach Jim Valvano in the Wolfpack’s 77-74 win here on Feb. 6, 1988.
Current Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts and Krzyzewski have shared some similar moments this season. Neither is quite sure what he’s going to get from game to game out of his players.
In Duke’s case, guard Tre Jones and forward Vernon Carey will likely both end up on the All-ACC team. The rest of the roster has been inconsistent. Explosive wing Cassius Stanley has the best shot at being a difference-maker in the postseason. He had four points in the loss in Raleigh but 18 on Monday.
This Duke team has been young, as Krzyzewski has repeatedly and correctly pointed out over the past half dozen weeks, and not exactly of the vintage variety. But like many of Krzyzewski’s teams, they knew how to respond after a poor first half. It was an added bonus that N.C. State left the door open.
Duke missed 12 of its first 13 shots and was still reeling from the Virginia loss. N.C. State looked good and shot well in the first half but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
Duke was up 38-36 at the half despite its problems. Then Stanley, who had four points in the first half, turned the second half into a dunk show. Duke got out on transition and let Stanley and Carey (17 points) run.
“Our fastbreak coming out of the zone was terrific,” Krzyzewski said.
N.C. State was not in the second half. Keatts wished his team would have shot better against Duke’s zone.
“We had some great looks and for whatever reason, we just didn’t knock them down,” Keatts said.
Keatts also lamented Duke’s advantage on the offensive glass (16 to 9) and in transition (25 to 6).
“They made all of the winning plays in the second half,” Keatts said.
Krzyzewski is right. Now is not the time for N.C. State to overreact. But lose to Wake Forest on Friday or in the first game of the ACC tournament? It would nearly be impossible to overreact.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Last call coming for NC State after loss at Duke."
