Duke Basketball: 5 observations from the shocking upset loss to NC State

Before Duke played NC State on Saturday night, I asked five pregame questions from the Blue Devil’s standpoint. Let’s take a look at how it worked out.

1. Who is the “Dennis Smith Jr.” this time around?

Like I said in the pregame, there’s no standout star on NC State, but rather a collection of above-average players who play well together. This is what makes the Wolfpack team a threat on any given night.

That was the case in this game, with the four NC State players scoring between 14-16 points. That was problematic for Duke, who is a poor defensive team and couldn’t lock down anyone. NC State’s Kevin Keatts used eight guys in the game, and all of them played a big part in the upset. There was no need to rely on one guy if you were NC State, which bodes well for them in the future.

2. Can Duke drop 100 on the road?

To some degree, it’s unrealistic to score that many points on the road in conference play, but this was the same Wolfpack team that gave up 88 points to Notre Dame, who scored just 51 points against Syracuse. NC State could give up some points and Duke has eclipsed the 100-point mark before.

The Blue Devils still did well offensively, scoring 85 points, but a combination of making just three 3-pointers, combined with NC State slowing down the pace with the lead in the final minutes, made it impossible to get to 100, but the offense wasn’t the issue.

3. Can Duke hold NC State under 70 points?

Short answer, no. The Wolfpack nearly reached the century mark themselves, scoring 96 points in the win. They had 53 second-half points and shot well throughout the game.

But there was a moment where Duke could’ve ended the game and kept NC State around 70 points. In the middle of the first half, Duke went on an 11-0 run to go up by double-digits. At that point, it was do-or-die time for NC State. The Wolfpack responded with a 12-0 run themselves to take the lead, giving them the confidence that the team could not only keep up with the Blue Devils but score on them all night.

Duke’s problem not only in this game but in others is that they allow teams to gain confidence through the basketball game, despite being inferior talent-wise.

4. Can Duke make Braxton Beverly miserable all night?

Going up against a freshman point guard who’s technically a backup should’ve been easy pickings for this Duke team. The former Ohio State commit had other ideas, though, scoring 14 points on 3/5 shooting (6/6 FT) and dishing out five assists while playing the second-most minutes for the team. His most impressive feat was committing just two turnovers, which was six less than his starting counterpart for Duke.

Markell Johnson is the current starting guard for NC State, averaging 6.6 apg. He’s currently suspended and dealing with legal issues, but even if he comes back, Johnson might need to take a back seat to Beverly. Coach Keatts is planning and recruiting for the future, but he probably already has his point guard.

5. Who will be the MVP for Duke in this game?

Not going to lie, this question was asked on the presumption of a Duke victory. That didn’t happen, as only a couple of Blue Devils played well.

As expected, Duke’s bench provided just four total points, once again leaving the responsibility to score on the starters. Problem was that two of the starters, Grayson Allen and Wendell Carter Jr., were no-shows, combining for six made field goals. Gary Trent Jr. had more field goal attempts than points, and at times was abused defensively.

Next: Duke falls to NC State, true road games becoming an issue

That leaves Marvin Bagley III, who put up a good box score with 31 points and 10 rebounds, but had five turnovers and was simply awful on defense. He had the best game offensively, but just like his teammates, played little to no defense. That’s just not going to cut it for a national title hopeful.

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