Duke didn’t let the same thing happen twice. You kind of had a feeling it wouldn’t happen, especially with this game being at home, but as conference tournaments beckon, nothing is a given this season in college basketball.
And in fact, it took a whole half for a big difference, but it happened. Duke took over in the second half and broke open a close game to beat NC State 88-69 and snap a stretch where they had lost three of four.
The first meeting between the teams was easy to remember, as NC State blitzed the Blue Devils in Raleigh in a game that was never competitive. It started the aforementioned four-game stretch for Duke, which also had losses at Wake Forest and Virginia. You had to think a repeat wasn’t going to happen, but some things did at first.
NC State got opportunities in the first half, with Markell Johnson doing a lot of damage. He had 28 points in the first game, and on Monday he created opportunities as well. That was a big reason the Blue Devils switched defenses late in the first half, and the Wolfpack never seemed to adjust. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils actually seemed to rebound better out of the zone they went to, riding that to a 46-27 edge on the glass.
At the offensive end, Duke got a lot of players going as six players scored in double figures. It wasn’t a sterling offensive showing by any means – Duke shot under 48 percent, which is good but hardly great, and they were 5-15 from long range – but it was more than adequate. They got to the free throw line as well and succeeded, going 23-27. Duke only led by two at the break, but broke away in the second half.
That sets the Blue Devils up for the regular season finale at home against North Carolina. And as we saw the first time, you can still throw out the records when these two teams play. It’s been a long season in Chapel Hill, but as the Blue Devils just lost three of four, you know they are beatable as well, even if it won’t be easy. It’s all part of what has made this season of college basketball what it is.
Side Dishes
Baylor held off Texas Tech 71-68 in overtime in Waco in a game that was every bit as good as advertised. The game was also tied at halftime, and the Red Raiders had their chances and even appeared to be well-positioned from an attrition standpoint heading into the extra session, but the Bears had one more play to pull it out.
Another overtime dandy came in the MEAC in what looked like the best matchup of the night. In another close game for most of the night, NC Central edged Bethune-Cookman by an identical score, 71-68 in overtime, to go to 12-3 in the MEAC. North Carolina A&T joins them at that record after they won 76-65 at South Carolina State, while Norfolk State won 79-73 at Delaware State to come in a game behind at 11-4.
Prairie View A&M clinched at least a share of the regular season title in the SWAC by taking care of Alabama A&M 73-62, while Texas Southern is hanging in there thanks to a big second half rally that pushed them past Alabama State 78-73. The Tigers outscored the Hornets 50-38 after intermission to stay two games back with two to play.
Georgia Tech withdrew its appeal of the postseason ban the NCAA levied against the program back in September. The move also means they will not be in the ACC Tournament next week since they will be ineligible for any postseason tournament. They will continue their appeal of other punishments from that time, which are scholarship reductions and a limit on official visits, and will be eligible for postseason play again next season.
Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike is hoping to play on Wednesday night against TCU, as he is out of his walking boot. The senior hurt his ankle on Saturday against Kansas State and was limited to 20 minutes, and he’s been very limited since then, not practicing at all. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday night.
Illinois will give head coach Brad Underwood a three-year contract extension to keep him there through 2026. The Fighting Illini have been in a long slog to become relevant again, and they now appear very much on their way as they are challenge for the top of the Big Ten in Underwood’s third season in Champaign.
Tonight’s Menu
Conference tournaments will be underway tonight, as four conferences get theirs going amidst some of the last regular season games elsewhere.
- The Atlantic Sun quarterfinals get going with No. 5 North Alabama at No. 4 Stetson, No. 7 Jacksonville at No. 2 North Florida, No. 8 NJIT at No. 1 Liberty (7 p.m.) and No. 6 FGCU at No. 3 Lipscomb (8 p.m.)
- Opening round action in the Big South Tournament will see No. 11 Campbell go to No. 6 UNC Asheville, No. 10 High Point travel to No. 7 USC Upstate and No. 9 Presbyterian head to No. 8 Charleston Southern, all with a 7 p.m. tip.
- The Horizon League Tournament also gets going with first round action as No. 8 Milwaukee visits No. 5 Youngstown State and No. 7 Cleveland State goes to No. 6 Oakland at 7 p.m., then No. 9 IUPUI visits No. 4 UIC at 8 p.m.
- The Patriot League Tournament has opening round action with No. 10 Holy Cross going to No. 7 Bucknell (remember when those two teams were annually the top two seeds?) and No. 9 Loyola (Md.) traveling to No. 8 Lehigh (7 p.m.)
- A key game in the SEC gets the regular season action going as Mississippi State visits South Carolina (6:30 p.m.), then Alabama hosts Vanderbilt (8:30 p.m.) and Kentucky hosts Tennessee in a game the Volunteers really need (9 p.m.)
- A couple of important Big Ten games come up early as Maryland visits Rutgers and Penn State hosts Michigan State (7 p.m.), then Purdue goes to Iowa later on (9 p.m.)
- Key games in the Atlantic 10 include Richmond hosting Davidson and VCU hosting Duquesne at 7 p.m.)
- A couple of good ones are on tap in the Sun Belt, where a number of teams are still jockeying for seeding position, as Little Rock visits Georgia State (7 p.m.) and South Alabama hosts Texas State (8 p.m.)
- In Big East action, DePaul hosts Marquette (8 p.m.)
- Stephen F. Austin has already clinched an outright regular season title in the Southland Conference, but they still have a good road test ahead as they go to Abilene Christian (8:30 p.m.)
- The Big 12 has two games tipping at 9 p.m. as West Virginia goes to Iowa State and Texas visits Oklahoma in what might be close to an at-large elimination game.
