North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack and Blue Devils Set to Clash at Cameron
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-It was former Virginia coach Terry Holland who once predicted that several teams might one day tie for the ACC regular season crown with 8-8 records. He might not be that far off this season. Eighth-ranked Duke (18-4, 8-4) and NC State (14-8, 7-4), a pair of teams with four losses in the conference standings, will still be very much in the hunt when they square off Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham. Heading into the contest, both teams are just one game in the loss column behind league leader Wake Forest. Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network for the 4:00 p.m. contest will be 3:30.
"I know this is a tough conference and we beat up on each other from top to bottom," said Wolfpack senior guard Cliff Crawford, who scored 21 points in NC State's 80-71 victory over Duke in Raleigh back on January 22. "You know each night out it's going to be a grind to come out and get a win. But funny things sometimes happen and that's what's happening right now."
It's been a year when even the best teams have struggled to get breakthrough victories on the road. Even Duke, which traditionally doesn't even so much as flinch in front of hostile crowds, has dropped four conference games away from home this season. But of course, the Blue Devils still benefit from the electric atmosphere provided by their intimate home venue, which always delivers one of the best homecourt edges in all of college basketball. Wednesday night's 75-70 win over Maryland was Duke's 26th straight victory at Cameron.
"Yea, it's a tough place to play," Crawford said. "But if you come in and maintain your focus and keep your composure you can do well in there. I'm going to go in there and have fun. It's going to be my last time playing in Cameron and I'm just going to go play my heart out."
It will take a lot of heart and courage for NC State to go into Cameron and hang with a Duke team that seems to be hitting its stride. After relying on its perimeter most of the season, the Blue Devils are suddenly getting a big boost in the paint from freshman big man Shelden Williams, who has averaged 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and five blocked shots in back-to-back conference wins over Virginia and the Terrapins. But according to his coach, Williams' recent emergence wasn't as sudden as it might appear.
"It never happens in just one game like there's a magic potion or something like that," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Certainly we've seen his improvement through the year and at times he's played really well. There just wasn't that high level of consistency."
And the inside presence that Williams brings now will likely make Duke more formidable than it was in Raleigh one month ago. In that game, Krzyzewski's big man rotation of Nick Horvath, Casey Sanders, Williams and Shavlik Randolph produced only 18 of Duke's 71 points.
"Obviously, their younger players now have almost a full season under their belts, so they've gained a great deal of experience since we played the first time," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "They put points on the board, they do it in a hurry and they do it with a variety of players in a variety of ways. I think they're one of the most difficult teams in the country to guard. They're very high octane."
And that high-octane attack to which Sendek refers is averaging 83.6 points per game. The Blue Devils feature three perimeter players-senior Dahntay Jones (16.8 ppg.), freshman J.J. Redick (15.5) and sophomore Daniel Ewing (11.3)-who are averaging in double figures. The recent inside contributions of Williams should make Duke's explosive perimeter even more difficult to defend.
Speaking of offense, NC State shot 50 percent from the floor and 43 percent from 3-point range in the first meeting between the two clubs. To have a shot on Saturday, the Pack will have to take care of the ball, much the way it did a month ago when it had 14 turnovers, a fairly respectable number against Duke's halfcourt man-to-man pressure.
"Number one, they're well coached," Krzyzewski said. "They beat us one month ago and Hodge and Melvin were terrific, but Crawford played an amazing game for them."
NC State's switch to a "Princeton-style offense" has been well documented over the last few years. It's a style that Krzyzewski says is very difficult to defend.
"To me, it's the NC State offense," he said. "Offenses take on the personality of the people playing the offense. I can tell you that when Princeton played that offense they didn't have people like Julius Hodge taking it to the hole and Powell posting inside. They didn't have a 6-8 kid like Melvin hitting threes. I think Herb and his staff have used an idea and then coordinated it with the people that they have to make it their offense. Their offense is difficult to defend because they have good players running it."
NC State center Josh Powell did return to practice on Thursday after sitting out the second half of NC State's win over Florida State because of a sore back. Sendek said Friday that Powell should be ready to go on Saturday afternoon.
Although the Pack prevailed last month in Raleigh, Duke has won 18 of the last 20 meetings in the series. The Wolfpack hasn't won in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995.
