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NC State basketball demolishes Duke, 84-60

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•01/04/23•

TheWolfpacker

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NC State-Duke box score

Many were probably expecting a blowout at PNC Arena in Raleigh when NC State basketball hosted No. 16 Duke amidst late-breaking news that Wolfpack fifth-year senior forward and leading rebounder Jack Clark was out indefinitely. And a blowout was what they got.

NC State demolished No. 16 Duke, 84-60.

That was the largest win for the Wolfpack over the Tobacco Road rival in 45 years and narrowly missed the biggest margin of victory for NC State in the series since the ACC was formed before the 1953-54 season. The Pack won by 27 points in Raleigh in 1972.

Despite being shorthanded, the Wolfpack held the Blue Devils scoreless for over seven minutes to start the game and built what would eventually be a 20-2 lead halfway through the first half. A counter run from Duke never came.

NC State super senior guard Jarkel Joiner made a corner three-pointer as time expired in the first half to put the Wolfpack up, 44-22. After Duke briefly cut the lead down to 18 points to start the second half, sophomore NC State guard Terquavion Smith made back-to-back three-pointers to extend the Pack’s advantage to 52-26 with 17:44 left.

Duke would never get within 20 points of NC State for the rest of the contest.

The Wolfpack was led by that dynamic backcourt duo Joiner and Smith. Joiner had 21 points and made 5 of 10 three-pointers. Smith added 24 points and connected on 4 of 8 treys.

This came a game after the two combined to go 7 for 32 from the field in a 14-point loss at Clemson. Before Tuesday’s practice, NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts sat down both Joiner and Smith and gave them a simple message: “We are going to be as good as you guys are. You can’t be average.”

“They stepped up today,” Keatts said. “We are going to go as far as they go.”

Fifth-year senior post player and rapidly growing fan favorite D.J. Burns Jr., coming off the bench, made 7 of 10 shots and had 18 points.

“I don’t know if there is a better back-to-basket scorer in college basketball than him,” Keatts acknowledged.

Meanwhile, Duke shot just 39.6 percent from the field and had a season-high 21 turnovers.

The resounding victory for the Wolfpack improved NC State to 12-4 on the season, including 2-3 in the ACC. Duke falls to 11-4 and 2-2 in the conference.

“They outplayed us thoroughly in every facet,” Duke first-year head coach Jon Scheyer said. “Their guards took over the game. They outfought us. We knew they would be a hungry team coming off a couple tough losses. We’ve known they’re a dangerous team. … Lot of respect for them.”

Next up for NC State basketball is a road contest at Virginia Tech Saturday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on RSN.

Watch videos of both head coaches’ postgame press conference below, courtesy TheWolfpacker’s YouTube channel.

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