The first six minutes of the game saw no team creating any real separation. While NC State was keeping pace with Duke, it was apparent Duke came out with a defensive intensity that has rarely, if ever, been seen this season. A dunk from Jericole Hellems brought NC State within one point of Duke at the 14:12 mark of the half, but it was all Duke from there.
Duke went on a 14-0 run to extend their lead to 15. Jaemyn Brakefield got back into the action with a three. Mark Williams was a force on both ends. Duke’s defense was swarming. But Duke was not yet done building up their lead. Two free throws from Jalen Johnson put Duke up 39-17 with 2:52 remaining in the half. This was the largest lead of the half for Duke. When the first half buzzer sounded, Duke took a 39-21 lead into the locker room. It was a fantastic first half on both ends of the floor for Duke.
The start of the second half was a bit sloppy, with back to back turnovers for Duke on their first two possession, but Duke quickly erased any concern of a second half let down. Matthew Hurt hit his fourth three of the game on as many attempts at the 17:35 mark to extend Duke’s lead to 23.
The second half was mostly the two teams staying neck and neck in terms of second half scoring, but the damage had already been done. Duke was in control throughout and was largely in cruise control. Duke continued to look sharp offensively and remained locked in defensively.
The final score was 69-53. There was never a doubt in this one.
Main Observations
Defensive energy
The story of this game for Duke was the defensive intensity. Duke was flying around the floor on the defensive end of the floor. Rotations were as sharp as they have been all season. They were playing as a cohesive unit. NC State is not a great offensive team, but Duke has struggled against less than stellar offensive teams on plenty of occasions this season. The difference in the this game was an intensity that has been lacking on the season. Duke held NC State to just two made threes in the game.
Attack mode offensively
Duke was attacking the basket relentlessly in this game. Earning trips to the free throw line has been a major weakness for this team on the season, but it was not the case in this game. Duke attempted 11 free throws in the first half, a number of attempts higher than what they have reached in some entire games this season. Duke did not settle for bad shots offensively. Duke finished with 17 free throw attempts, and that number would have like been much higher had the game not gotten out of hand.
Mark Williams
What more can be said about Mark Williams? He continues to jump off the screen game in and game out. Duke has a special young center on their hands. His potential is through the roof.
More Brakefield, less Johnson
After being glued to bench for the better part of the last six games, Brakefield saw the most playing time he has received January 12th against Virginia Tech. His minutes partly came at the expense of Jalen Johnson, who did not play in the second half. Besides the excellent defensive effort from Duke, this may have been the story of the game. Johnson has not played well of late and that culminated with Johnson spending the entire second half on the bench. Brakefield played well in the minutes he was given.
Matthew Hurt efficiency
Matthew Hurt finished with 24 points on just 10 shot attempts, an incredibly impressive feat. He was nearly perfect from the field, where he shot 8/10, including 6/7 from three and 2/2 from the free throw line. Hurt dominated offensively while hardly appearing to break a sweat.
Player of the game: Mark Williams
It feels impossible to not pick a guy played with the efficiency of Matthew Hurt, but Mark Williams was an absolute force on both ends of the floor. It felt like Williams had a big impact on setting the tone defensively to start the game. Williams blocked five shots and affected several others with his defensive presence. He also set a season with 13 points.