Duke destroys N.C. State, wraps up ACC title
RALEIGH – Cameron Boozer said a couple of days ago that Duke doesn’t like to share.
The Blue Devils won’t be sharing the ACC regular season championship.
No. 1 Duke rolled into Raleigh and romped to a 93-64 win against N.C. State at Lenovo Center.
With the win and one game left in the regular season, Duke (28-2, 16-1 ACC) can’t be caught in the ACC standings. It’s the second straight regular-season title for the Blue Devils; they’ve won 38 of 40 games against ACC teams since the start of last season.
N.C. State (19-11, 10-7) threw a 2-3 zone at Duke for most of the first half. It threw the Blue Devils off for a few possessions early. The Wolfpack’s lead was 14-13 after seven minutes.
Duke led 47-30 at halftime. The lead expanded to 58-35 in the first few minutes of the second half.
From the 6-minute mark of the first half to the 16:51 mark of the second half, Duke scored on every single possession. That added up to 29 points on 13 possessions.
Boozer was dominant, as usual, with 26 points on 8-for-10 shooting. He didn’t miss a shot in the second half, going 4-for-4 from the field and 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
Isaiah Evans drilled another four 3-pointers — he’s made multiple 3s in every game since Duke’s loss at North Carolina.
The unexpected star for Duke offensively was Dame Sarr. The freshman from Italy had 16 points, 14 of those coming in the first half. He made three 3s, matching the most he’s made this season. The last time Sarr made three 3s was a Jan. 3 win at Florida State, Duke’s second ACC game of the season.
Duke’s lead ballooned to 30 with about four minutes left.
