North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Travels to Duke
2/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
Duke's Cameron Crazies, who fill the lower seats at cozy Cameron Indoor Stadium, are notorious for their creative chants, rhythmic applause and unconditional support of their team.
But the talent on the court is the biggest reason the Blue Devils are so tough to beat in their famed home venue. Needless to say, NC State will be facing one of the most difficult tasks in college basketball when it clashes with 3rd ranked Duke at Cameron on Sunday afternoon.
In 21 seasons under Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have a 263-45 record on their home floor. Duke has won 11 of its last 12 games against NC State at Cameron.
It's another year, but the Wolfpack may be able to draw from the fact that it nearly pulled off an improbable upset last season when it pushed the Blue Devils to overtime the last time these two big four rivals met in Durham.
"I think our guys have enough positive experience against the best teams in the country to give them a level of confidence," said NC State coach Herb Sendek. "But each team is new and each game is different. I think we must make sure we center on the present."
The Wolfpack has certainly encountered its share of highly ranked opponents this season. Wednesday's home win over No. 6 Virginia was preceded by three close, gut wrenching losses to North Carolina, Wake Forest and Syracuse-all of whom have been ranked in the Top 10 at one time or another this year.
One month ago at the ESA, Duke built a 19-point lead on NC State with 14:36 remaining only to see the Wolfpack claw back within five in the final minutes. The Blue Devils eventually posted an 84-76 victory as Shane Battier and Jason Williams scored 22 points apiece.
NC State's big ace in the hole back on January 10 was its ability to rebound the basketball. The Wolfpack owned a 51-35 edge on the boards and scored a whopping total of 38-second chance points off of 24 offensive rebounds.
"If rebounding is important for other teams, it's probably more so for our team," Sendek said. "It's just something that our personnel has the ability to do well and our personnel needs to do well."
Obviously, the Pack will have to do a number of things well to walk out of Cameron with a win. First, State must deal with Duke's tenacious half-court man-to-man defense. The Blue Devils deny passes on the wings and succeed in taking most teams out their respective offenses. Duke leads the ACC in two telling statistical categories: steals (11 pg) and turnover margin (+6.04).
The Blue Devils are also one of the deadliest three-point shooting teams in the nation. In the first meeting between the two clubs, Duke knocked down 12-of-27 from the arc. Averaging a league best 93 points per game, the Blue Devils are led by point guard Jason Williams, who is averaging 20.6 points and 6.4 assists per contest.
Battier (19.1), forward Nate James (14.5), center Carlos Boozer (14.2) and swingman Mike Dunleavy (12.8) are also averaging in double figures. The number one reserve is freshman guard Chris Duhon, who splashed in two big three-point baskets in the second half of Duke's win over the Pack a month ago.
Sunday's matchup will mark the 213th meeting in the series. All-time, Duke holds the upper hand at 119-93.
