RALEIGH
N.C. State talked a lot during the offseason about a “Red Reckoning,” and how the Wolfpack would be a threat in college basketball.
While the Pack is largely improved from a year ago, a full-on reckoning may have been a little strong. In fact, N.C. State head coach Will Wade said last week at Virginia that his team was not ready to play with the top of the league.
Duke, meanwhile, confirmed Monday that it is still the ACC’s top dog.
The Blue Devils (28-2, 16-1 ACC) entered Lenovo Center as the top team in the nation, as well as the ACC. After the first three minutes against the Pack, they looked every bit of it.
Duke’s Dame Sarr (7) celebrates hitting a three-pointer during the first half of Duke’s game against N.C. State at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, March 2, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
Duke overcame an early surprise zone defensive effort from N.C. State to post a 93-64 victory, sending the Wolfpack to its third straight loss, while the Blue Devils won their sixth straight since a loss to UNC.
The Wolfpack (19-11, 10-7 ACC) kept things close for the first 15 minutes. The teams were tied 18-18 with 11 minutes to play in the opening half, and N.C. State remained within single digits for another seven minutes.
Duke’s star freshman Cameron Boozer, however, was the catalyst for a 9-0 Duke run that put the Devils up 14 points. Boozer paced all players with 26 points on 8-10 shooting, including 9-11 at the free throw line.
Isaiah Evans, Dame Sarr and Patrick Ngongba also eclipsed the 10-point mark, giving the Blue Devils another balanced scoring performance. N.C. State had no answer.
“The IQ of this group to understand and figure out different ways to attack doubles, to attack zone,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “We’ve seen switching. We’ve seen a lot, and I think that we have an advantage to attack any of them, as long as we continue to trust the pass and play together.”
NC State’s Alyn Breed pressures Duke’s Nikolas Khamenia during the first half of the Blue Devils’ game on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]
The Blue Devils dominated on both ends of the floor, hitting 55.2% from the field and holding the Wolfpack to 35.4%.
This is the fifth time in the past six games that N.C. State has allowed its opponent to shoot more than 45% from the floor, with four making more than 50% of their attempts.
N.C. State forward Darrion Williams led the Wolfpack with 17 points. Williams scored nine points in the first five minutes of play, all from 3, but his shooting cooled as the game progressed. He finished 6-17 from the field (35.3%)
Quadir Copeland added 11 points and five assists in the loss.
Duke secured the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament with its win over Virginia on Saturday, but its victory against N.C. State makes the Blue Devils the outright regular season champions.
“I’m really proud of the team to get to win the ACC outright,” Scheyer said. “Twenty-eight wins at this point of the year, and just their professionalism, their approach; they’ve been an absolute joy to coach. We talked about after Saturday, it’s great to get a share. That means a lot, but let’s get this thing outright.”
After losing to Notre Dame on Saturday, N.C. State had to win in order to remain in contention for a double bye in the tournament. The result of other games, and the outcome of the Pack’s Saturday matchup against Stanford, will determine its final seeding.
NC State’s Musa Sagnia (13) fouls Duke’s Cameron Boozer (12) during the second half of Duke’s 93-64 victory over N.C. State at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, March 2, 2026. Boozer has a deep scratch gotten in the game on his right arm Ethan Hyman [email protected]
Here are five observations from Duke’s emphatic win:
NC State goes zone
The Wolfpack defense opened the game in a 2-3 zone, a switch from its typical man-to-man. It was the first time N.C. State played a large amount of zone.
According to Synergy Sports, N.C. State played 59 possessions of zone defense all season. The Pack played 29 in the first half alone against Duke.
That was also a change for the Blue Devils who, according to Synergy Sports, had only played against zone on 3.4% of their possessions this season.
NC State head coach Will Wade gives instructions during the first half of the Wolfpack’s game against Duke on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]
Synergy indicates Duke ranks in the 70th percentile — or “very good” — for points per possession (1.046) when facing a zone defense. By comparison, the Blue Devils rank in the 98th percentile — or “excellent” — for points per possession (1.053) when facing a man-to-man defense.
N.C. State, which is undersized in the frontcourt, saw positive results from the effort. It took an early 8-4 lead and, even after the Blue Devils found an offensive rhythm, largely kept Duke outside the lane in the first half.
The Blue Devils shot fewer 3s as the game progressed, often passing to an open man in the center, but the Wolfpack’s defensive experiment kept it in the game early on.
Wade said the defense has been “so bad” that he thought the team needed to try something different.
“This probably wasn’t a great team to try it against, but we were trying,” Wade said. “When we went man, we fouled them almost every possession. We’d have fouled everybody out, I think, if we’d have played them in man. It was worth trying.”
NC State’s Ven-Allen Lubin drives to the basket against Duke’s Cayden Boozer during the first half of the Wolfpack’s 93-64 loss on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]
Blue Devils had to smooth out the offense
Duke had not seen any N.C. State zone defense on game film, because the Pack had not played it this season.
Until Monday.
The zone vexed the Devils a bit and had them a bit out of sync as the Wolfpack looked to protect the paint — that is, surround and keep Cam Boozer in check.
But Scheyer, in a halftime interview, noted the Devils played with better pace and found the open shots as the half progressed.
Scheyer was working hard in the Duke huddles during timeouts, using his coaching board to emphatically point out the offensive actions needed to free up shooters.
Duke’s Cameron Boozer is fouled by NC State’s Scottie Ebube during the first half of the Blue Devils’ game on Monday, March 2, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]
One way to beat a zone is to control the defensive boards and get down the floor quickly in transition. The Devils did that at times with runouts, but also made open 3’s — Sarr had three makes in the opening half in scoring 14 points as Duke surged to a 47-30 lead.
“Coach Wade, he’s a really good coach, and we knew we could see some different things tonight,” Scheyer said. “They went zone, and I thought we did a really good job of just handling that. Not right away, but our guys really worked through it.”
Sarr’s defense big plus for Devils
Sarr has become the Devils’ most effective defender at the point of attack, and his assignment Monday was the Pack’s Quadir Copeland, who drives the State offense.
Copeland, with his size, strength and willingness to attack the basket, has been able to give teams problems. But Sarr, a quick-twitch defender at 6-7, made it a tough game for Copeland.
Duke’s Dame Sarr (7) slams in two during Duke’s 93-64 victory over N.C. State at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, March 2, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
Copeland missed five of his six shots from the field and had three turnovers by halftime.
Copeland does a lot of jawing on the court — and anyone and everyone — but Sarr had some words for Copeland, maybe in his native Italian.
Duke’s defensive efficiency is ranked No. 1 nationally in the KenPom metrics. Sarr is a big part of that.
Getting deep in the rotation
N.C. State went with its typical starting lineup — Tre Holloman, Paul McNeil, Copeland, Williams and Ven-Allen Lubin — but Wade was unafraid to use a number of players down the roster in the first half.
In addition to the team’s normal reserves, senior guard Alyn Breed checked in with 10 minutes to play in the first half. It was his first appearance since playing seven minutes against North Carolina two weeks ago.
Scottie Ebube, however, was the real star off the bench, playing in relief of Ven-Allen Lubin who picked up two fouls in the first nine minutes. Ebube, listed at 6-10 and 280 pounds, played five minutes in the first half.
Despite playing limited minutes this season, no one could question his effort. The senior center pulled down a pair of offensive rebounds, blocked a shot and hustled down the floor on every possession. He even drew a foul on a shot attempt.
Ebube re-entered early in the second half after Lubin picked up his fourth foul 15 seconds into play.
The transfer from Wyoming fouled out after playing 11 minutes. He contributed four rebounds, all on the offensive end, and a pair of blocks. He went 0 for 4 from the free throw line.
“I thought he brought physicality, energy, what we see every day in practice,” Wade said. “We wanted to look at a lot of different guys tonight, because we’ve got some important games here down the stretch for us. We needed to look at a lot of different guys. I thought Scottie was somebody who really rose up tonight and did some good things.”
N.C. State went to Musa Sagnia prior to Ebube, but he only played five minutes in the first half. He returned after Ebube picked up his fifth foul.
In a physical game like Monday’s, Ebube’s efforts helped keep the Wolfpack competitive against one of the best teams in the country.
Duke’s Cameron Boozer (12) defends NC State’s Darrion Williams (1) during the first half of Duke’s game against N.C. State at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, March 2, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
Cam Boozer continues to grow as a player
The maturity of Cam Boozer’s game continues to impress.
He’s Duke’s biggest star and the ACC’s leading scorer. But when the points don’t immediately come, he doesn’t demand the ball or put up bad shots or rush things.
Against State, his first basket came with 9:48 left in the first half. He remained steady, his face always stoic, and had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists by halftime.
Asked this week about the biggest growth in Boozer’s game this season, Scheyer said:
“It’s the speed of his game. Not in his movement, but his decision-making. So the decision of driving, shooting, going to what’s next, he’s really grown a lot. And defensively he’s grown a lot. He’s had to guard 1 thru 5 and guard better players.
“He does the things that don’t necessarily stand out on the box score. He’s been protecting the rim a lot better recently. His defensive growth has been awesome to see.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 9:14 PM.
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Chip Alexander
The News & Observer
In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.
