Out: Duke Loses To NC State In The Elite Eight, 76-64

As the Wolfpack improbably moves on to the Final Four

The first half of the Duke-NC State game in the South regional final was a battle, but in the second half, State won the war, 76-64 and now moves on to the Final Four.

As we expected, both teams came out and both played hard as hell.

DJ Burns scored six of the first eight points for the Pack, but Duke tightened up on the rest of the team: Burns was 4-8 for the half and everyone else was 5-23. Only DJ Horne managed a three. State shot just 1-7 before the break.

The Blue Devils took a 27-21 lead into the locker room, but Jon Scheyer described the offense as “disjointed.” No one shot particularly well for Duke. Filipowski was 1-5, Tyrese Proctor 0-2 and Jeremy Roach was 3-7. There were a number of shots missed around the basket.

Jared McCain was just 2-8 but the two he made were threes and he also hit 7-7 from the line for 13.

Free throws were a major advantage for Duke, with the Devils hitting 9-9 to State’s 2-3. Duke won the rebounding in the half 23-20 although State did well offensively with 5 to Duke’s 3.

There were a lot of missed opportunities on both sides and fouls were a concern too: both Burns and Mohamed Diarra had two as did Filipowski. Jaylen Blakes had three off the bench.

But the half was dominated by defense, and of the defensive plays, not many were better than Sean Stewart’s rejection of Ben Middlebrook’s shot and Jared McCain stripping Michael O’Connell on a transition drive.

In the second half it was a very different story. Duke’s defense broke down and State’s didn't.

The Wolfpack did what it has done all March and played with immense guts and confidence. DJ Burns finished with 29 points, shooting 13-19. DJ Horne had 20. The most impressive stat of the night though may have been Michael O’Connell’s 11 rebounds.

It was a tremendous game by the Pack and now they move on to play Purdue in the Final Four. Watching Burns go against Zach Edey is going to be amazing.

As for Duke, it was a sad end to a strong NCAA tournament, but State is on an epic run. The Wolfpack has now won nine straight games and has an (outside) chance at a national championship. March truly is the most amazing month.

And for 67 teams ultimately, also quite painful.

Go State! A lot of Duke fans will be pulling for you.

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