Short Turnaround has Pack Heading to Second-Ranked Duke on Monday Night

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team is back in action Monday night when it makes the short trip to Durham to take on second-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Tipoff against the Blue Devils is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State could not complete a second half comeback as it fell to SMU, 63-57, on Saturday afternoon.
- The Pack trailed by 15 with 11:50 to play when it went on a 15-3 run to get within three, 52-49, with 6:32 to go. NC State eventually got within one, 56-55, with 3:21 to go, but the comeback attempt stalled there as the Pack only scored one field goal the remainder of the game.
- NC State forced 15 turnovers, the most an ACC-opponent has had this season, and also had nine steals - its most in a game since having 13 against William & Mary on Nov. 22 - but the Pack's 57 points were a season-low and NC State's field goal percentage of 29.2 percent was also a season-low.
- Marcus Hill led NC State with 14 points against the Mustangs. The senior from Rockford, Ill., has scored in double figures in 12 straight games and leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game. Hill is shooting 50.0 percent from the field this season (fifth in the ACC), is second on the team with 40 assists and has a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (40-to-20). In eight conference games, Hill has upped his average to 15.4 points per game and is shooting 50.5 percent. He also leads the team in conference action in rebounding, averaging 5.1 per game.
- Marcus Hill or Jayden Taylor have now led NC State in eight straight games. The last time a player other that duo led NC State in scoring was back on Dec. 14 at Kansas when Ben Middlebrooks led the Pack's effort with 14 points.
- Jayden Taylor finished with 11 points and had a game-high three steals vs. SMU. He has now scored in double figures in four consecutive games and in six of the last seven outings. The Indianapolis, Ind., native has also stepped it up on the defensive end as he now has 10 steals in the last five outings.
- NC State had a season-low six turnovers against SMU and now has had single digit turnovers in five consecutive games and 11 total games this season. NC State leads the ACC and ranks fourth in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (9.3). NC State is aiming for a fourth straight ranked as one of the nation's best teams in valuing the basketball. The Pack finished 12th in the NCAA last season in turnovers, seventh in 2022-23 and 16th in the 2023-24 season.

Monday Storylines
- NC State has 16 wins over ranked opponents in the Kevin Keatts era, including two wins over teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. On Nov. 22, 2017 - The Pack beat No. 2 Arizona, 90-84, in the Battle for Atlantis. On Jan. 6, 2018, NC State beat No. 2 Duke, 96-85, in PNC Arena. That win over the Blue Devils was the first ACC win for Keatts. The Pack's last win over a ranked foe was last year's Elite Eight when NC State beat 13th-ranked Duke, 76-64, to advance to the Final Four.
- Pack is used to playing close ones in conference action. Seven of the Pack's eight ACC games have been a one-possession game in the final four minutes of regulation. NC State started league play off by beating Florida State in overtime, its other win is a one-point win over Notre Dame. Four of its six losses have also come down to the last possession. NC State lost to UNC by two and at Virginia, at Virginia Tech and home against Cal by three. Saturday's loss to SMU didn't come down to the last possession, but the Pack had the ball down by four with under 30 seconds to play.
- NC State's defense has been able to hold the ACC's best offenses down this season. SMU leads the ACC in scoring, averaging 83.1 points per game, but the Pack held them to just 63 points. UNC is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 82.5 points per game, but the Pack held the Tar Heels to a season-low 63 points back on Jan. 11. Duke enters Monday's contest third in the ACC in scoring, averaging 80.3 points per game. The Pack has held every opponent under 80 points this season.
- Ben Middlebrooks leads the ACC in blocks at 1.7 per game. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has 30 blocks this season which already mark the most he's ever had in a single season. Coming into this season, Middlebrooks had multiple blocked shots in nine of 101 career games, but has already had eight multiple block games this season.
- Michael O'Connell leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the NCAA with a 3.72 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. O'Connell finished last season third in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54). His career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.16 is the 15th best active assist-to-turnover ratio in DI. His assist-to-turnover ratio at NC State is 2.86 (197-to-69) and that is the third best career assist-to-turnover ratio in program history. O'Connell has had one or fewer turnovers in 15 of 18 games this season. In eight ACC games this season, O'Connell is averaging one turnover for every 35.5 minutes played.
- One of NC State's calling cards in the Kevin Keatts era is turning opponent's turnovers into points. In the Pack's nine wins this season, it is averaging 19.3 points per game off opponents turnovers and has outscored the opponents in points off turnovers by 102 points. In the Pack's 10 losses it averages just 11.6 points off opponent turnovers and has outscored its opponents in points off turnovers by just 21 points (116-to-95).

NC State series with Duke
- Monday will be the 258th all-time meeting between NC State and Duke. Duke leads the all-time series, 152-105.
- Kevin Keatts is 5-6 against Duke as head coach of the Pack, including a 3-2 mark against the Blue Devils with Jon Scheyer as head coach.
- NC State will be aiming for its third straight win over Duke on Monday night. The last time NC State won three straight games over Duke you have to go back to 1987 and 1988. The Pack beat Duke, 71-64, in overtime in the 1987 ACC Tournament and then swept the 1987-88 season series with the Blue Devils, beating Duke 77-74 in Cameron Indoor Stadium and 89-78 in Reynolds Coliseum.
- NC State and North Carolina are the only programs with over 100 wins all-time over Duke. Wake Forest with 80 wins is the next closest program.
- Last Meeting (March 31, 2024): Eleventh-seed NC State beat fourth-seed Duke, 76-64, in the Elite Eight in Dallas to advance to the program's first Final Four since 1983. The win was the ninth-straight for NC State on its historic run through the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. DJ Burns, Jr., led the Pack with a season-high 29 points, while DJ Horne added 20. Michael O'Connell added a career-high 11 rebounds and passed out a season-high six assists. Ben Middlebrooks added seven points, five rebounds, four offensive, and a game-high three blocks in 26 minutes off the bench. NC State shot 73.1 percent in the second half and outscored Duke, 55-37, to turn a six-point halftime deficit into the Blue Devils first double-digit loss of the season. The Pack held Duke to just 32.2 percent shooting for the game, the lowest field goal percentage for an NC State opponent this season.

Short Turnaround has Pack Heading to Second-Ranked Duke on Monday Night

Players Mentioned

DJ Burns, Jr.

Marcus Hill

DJ Horne

Ben Middlebrooks

Michael O'Connell

Jayden Taylor

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