Top-Ranked Duke Blue Devils Dominate NC State Behind Cameron Boozer’s Masterful Game
Monday night in Raleigh wasn’t a basketball game. It was a public service announcement. Duke walked into the Lenovo Center and delivered a 93-64 beating so thorough that Will Wade’s Wolfpack will need a few days just to process what happened. The No. 1 Blue Devils are now 28-2 on the season, 16-1 in ACC play, and riding a seven-game winning streak that’s starting to look less like a hot streak and more like a statement.
This is what a team that wants a national championship looks like.
Duke Spotted NC State a Head Start and Didn’t Care
Here’s the thing about great teams—they don’t need perfect starts. Duke fell behind by four points in the opening minutes, and rather than panic, the Blue Devils did what great teams do: they shrugged, locked in, and made NC State deeply regret ever taking that lead.
By the under-8 media timeout in the first half, Duke had already flipped the script, leading 27-22. Six different Blue Devils had scored. The ball was moving. The defense was tightening. And Dame Sarr looked like he had a personal grudge against NC State’s nets.
Sarr finished the night with 16 points and 8 rebounds, going 3-for-5 from three and looking every bit like the two-way force the team needs him to be. He scored 14 of those points in the first half alone. That’s not a hot shooting night. That’s a player announcing himself on a Monday night in prime time.
Cameron Boozer Did What Cameron Boozer Does
If Sarr was the opening act, Cameron Boozer was the headliner. The freshman dropped 26 points and hauled in 9 rebounds, adding 3 assists and committing zero turnovers. Zero. In a hostile road environment, with NC State’s physical bigs trying to rough him up, Boozer played like a man who does not get rattled.
He’s the second Duke player in the last 30 years to record 5 or more rebounds in each of his first 30 career games, joining Marvin Bagley III in that exclusive company. Boozer has only played 30 college games, and he’s already rewriting Duke history alongside one of the most hyped freshmen the program has ever seen.
NC State’s Zone Was a Nice Idea That Didn’t Work
Give Wade credit for creativity. Facing one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball, the first-year Wolfpack head coach elected to go zone—a 3-2 look designed to disrupt Duke’s rhythm and force the Blue Devils into uncomfortable situations.
For a few minutes, it actually worked. Duke had some errant passes. A few shots clanked. Wolfpack fans dared to dream. Then Duke figured it out like they always do.
Once the Blue Devils started dissecting the seams of the zone, it was over. Deep threes gave way to high-percentage looks at the rim. A Wolfpack scoring drought that lasted over three minutes turned into a 9-0 Duke run. The Blue Devils shot 39.3% from three on the night and finished with 21 assists against just 7 turnovers. Caleb Foster alone dished out 7 dimes.
The Wolfpack Ran Out of Big Men, and Duke Knew Exactly What to Do
NC State’s frontcourt depth was shaky heading into this one, and Duke exploited it without mercy. Ven-Allen Lubin and Darrion Williams, the Wolfpack’s two most reliable big men, both picked up their second fouls before halftime. Lubin picked up his fourth on the opening possession of the second half, which was basically the white flag.
With their bigs in foul trouble, NC State was forced to roll out seldom-used reserves. Duke, meanwhile, kept feeding Boozer and Patrick Ngongba II on the interior. Ngongba finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, and Isaiah Evans added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three. At one point, four Duke players had double-digit points.
Duke Owns the ACC, and Everyone Knows It
With the victory, Duke clinched the outright ACC regular season championship for the second consecutive year. Back-to-back titles. Jon Scheyer’s squad has made winning the conference look routine.
They also extended their streak of leading at halftime to 15 straight games, the longest such run since the 2014-15 national championship team. If you’re looking for historical benchmarks, Duke keeps clearing them.
The Blue Devils head back to Cameron Indoor Stadium this Saturday for their regular-season finale against archrival UNC. The No. 17 Tar Heels (23-6, 11-5 ACC) will come in with something to prove, and Duke will come in with everything to protect.
One week before March Madness begins, Duke looks like the team nobody wants to see on the other side of the bracket. And honestly? After watching what they did to NC State on Monday night, that feeling makes complete sense.
